Reference
Eight roles, written to be edited.
Summary, responsibilities, requirements and the specialty notes for the people who run a specialty practice. Copy, cut what you do not need, add your pay range.
The roles.
Front desk coordinator (patient services representative)
The first person a patient meets, at the counter and on the phone: check-in, insurance, scheduling, and the calm voice when the waiting room is full.
Responsibilities
- Greet and check in patients; verify demographics, insurance and consents.
- Schedule, reschedule and confirm visits on the practice's rules for each provider and visit type.
- Collect copays and balances at the visit; post payments.
- Answer and route calls; take messages the clinical team can act on.
- Prepare charts and referrals for the day; scan documents into the record.
- Keep the lobby, forms and signage in order.
Requirements
- High-school diploma; a medical office certificate is a plus.
- One year in a medical or dental front office, or strong customer-service experience.
- Working knowledge of insurance verification and a practice-management system.
- Calm, clear and kind under pressure; accurate with names, dates and numbers.
By specialty
In an orthopedic or surgical practice, add: pre-op paperwork, DME and imaging orders, and the post-op call queue.
With Callinzo: The receptionist takes the rings; this role keeps the counter and works the task inbox instead of the voicemail box.
Surgery scheduler
Turns a surgeon's decision into a date: the OR block, the pre-op clearance, the authorization, the patient's instructions, and the implant on the shelf.
Responsibilities
- Book procedures into surgeon and facility blocks; coordinate with the ASC or hospital.
- Obtain prior authorization and confirm benefits before the date is confirmed to the patient.
- Arrange pre-operative clearance, labs and imaging; track results.
- Send and explain pre-op instructions; confirm the day before.
- Coordinate implants, representatives and equipment with the facility.
- Keep the cancellation list moving so blocks stay full.
Requirements
- Two years scheduling in a surgical specialty.
- Fluent with CPT and ICD-10-CM for authorizations, and with payer portals.
- Organized across many moving dates; unflappable on the phone with facilities and patients.
By specialty
Orthopedics, spine, neurosurgery, ENT, ophthalmology and general surgery each have their own block rules and implant lists.
With Callinzo: Pre- and post-op confirmation calls go out from the receptionist; the scheduler sees the answers as tasks.
Medical assistant (clinical)
Rooms the patient, takes vitals and history, assists with procedures, and works the clinical call-backs: results, refills and the post-op questions.
Responsibilities
- Room patients; record vitals, medications, allergies and the reason for the visit.
- Assist with injections, minor procedures, casting or dressing changes as the specialty requires.
- Handle refill requests and results call-backs under the provider's protocol.
- Prepare and stock rooms; maintain logs for the refrigerator, sterilization and supplies.
- Document in the EHR accurately and on time.
Requirements
- Medical assistant certification (CMA, RMA or state equivalent); BLS.
- One year in an outpatient specialty clinic preferred.
- Comfortable with the specialty's procedures and its EHR templates.
By specialty
Orthopedic MAs cast and splint; dermatology MAs assist with biopsies; cardiology MAs run ECGs; GI MAs manage prep questions.
With Callinzo: Refill and results requests arrive as tasks with the caller's details and callback number, so the call-back list is complete by 9 a.m.
Medical biller and coder
Turns the note into a clean claim and the denial into a paid one.
Responsibilities
- Code visits and procedures from the documentation; query providers for specificity.
- Submit claims daily; work rejections and denials by reason code.
- Post payments and adjustments; reconcile to the bank.
- Send patient statements; set up payment plans.
- Watch the aging report and the top denial reasons; feed fixes back to scheduling and the front desk.
Requirements
- CPC, CCS-P or equivalent; two years in a specialty practice.
- NCCI edits, modifiers and global periods by heart.
- Comfortable with clearinghouse and payer portals.
By specialty
Surgical specialties need global-period discipline; imaging and pathology need 26/TC and CLFS rules; behavioral health needs time-based codes.
With Callinzo: The receptionist's bill on the Reports screen is line-by-line, so the practice's own cost per handled minute is known every day.
Practice manager
Runs the business of the practice: people, schedule, money, compliance and the phones.
Responsibilities
- Hire, train and schedule the front-desk and clinical support team.
- Own the provider schedule templates, access and the waitlist.
- Watch collections, denials, payer contracts and the cost of the phone line.
- Keep HIPAA, OSHA and CLIA policies current and trained.
- Choose and manage vendors, from the EHR to the answering service.
Requirements
- Three to five years managing a medical practice; a degree or CMPE is a plus.
- Financial literacy: reading an aging report and a P&L.
- Steady with people, direct with vendors.
By specialty
Multi-provider specialty groups add block scheduling, ASC relationships and imaging or lab operations.
With Callinzo: The manager sets coverage, approves the receptionist's scripts, reads the transcripts, and sees the bill and the pickup rate on one screen.
Triage nurse (RN) and on-call coordinator
Decides which calls become visits today, which become advice, and which page the physician tonight.
Responsibilities
- Triage symptom calls with the practice's protocols; document and route.
- Manage the after-hours escalation protocol and the on-call rota.
- Coordinate urgent add-on visits with the schedule.
- Educate patients on post-procedure care and medication questions under standing orders.
- Review the previous night's pages each morning.
Requirements
- Active RN licence; two years in the specialty or in telephone triage.
- Clear judgement and clear notes.
- Comfortable writing and revising protocols with the physicians.
By specialty
Post-op protocols in surgical specialties, chest-pain and anticoagulation protocols in cardiology, prep and bleeding protocols in GI.
With Callinzo: The nurse writes and approves the screening questions the receptionist asks; every page carries the answers and the nurse sees them in the morning.
Referral coordinator
Keeps referrals moving in both directions: the incoming ones scheduled, the outgoing ones tracked to a result.
Responsibilities
- Process incoming referrals; obtain records and insurance; schedule within the target days.
- Send outgoing referrals and orders; confirm receipt and appointment.
- Close the loop: results and consult notes back to the referring provider.
- Track referral turnaround and leakage; report monthly.
Requirements
- One to two years in a referral or scheduling role.
- Knowledge of insurance networks and referral requirements.
- Follows through without being asked.
By specialty
Specialty practices live on referrals from primary care; imaging centers and laboratories on orders.
With Callinzo: Referring offices calling to book reach the receptionist, which books on the schedule and leaves the coordinator the records work.
Fewer rings, same team.
The receptionist takes the phone; your people keep the counter, the schedule and the patients in front of them.