Director Patient Access

Valleywise Health is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Patient Access to lead a critical function within our Revenue Cycle organization. This executive-level leader will be responsible for overseeing all Patient Access operations across the enterprise, ensuring patients receive an exceptional experience while supporting accurate registration, reimbursement, and financial performance.

This role provides leadership for Scheduling, Pre-Certification & Referrals, Financial Counseling, Eligibility Verification, Pre-Processing, and Point-of-Service Collections across multiple care settings, including Maricopa Medical Center (MMC), Family Health Centers (FHCs), Comprehensive Health Centers (CHCs), and Desert Vista.

The ideal candidate is a highly collaborative healthcare leader with deep expertise in patient registration, revenue cycle operations, regulatory compliance, and team development. Experience with Epic, behavioral health, and/or Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) is strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Direct and oversee all Patient Access functions across the health system.
• Develop, implement, and monitor operational strategies that enhance patient experience, improve financial performance, and support organizational goals.
• Ensure best-practice, customer-focused, and cost-effective patient financial services.
• Drive operational excellence through continuous process improvement and performance monitoring.
• Lead enterprise-wide initiatives that improve registration accuracy, patient throughput, eligibility verification, and point-of-service collections.

• Ensure accurate patient registration and data collection to support clean claims and timely reimbursement.
• Oversee scheduling, admissions, registration, eligibility verification, financial counseling, referrals, and authorization processes.
• Monitor key revenue cycle metrics and implement corrective action plans to improve performance.
• Collaborate with Revenue Cycle leadership to optimize cash collections and reduce denial risk.
• Oversee information system enhancements and workflow changes that support revenue cycle effectiveness.

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of managers and staff.
• Drive employee engagement, professional development, succession planning, and performance management.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer service, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with leadership across clinical and operational departments to achieve organizational objectives.

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, payer, and organizational requirements.
• Maintain current knowledge of healthcare regulations, OIG initiatives, AHCCCS requirements, and fair debt collection practices.
• Establish and maintain policies, procedures, and controls supporting regulatory compliance and operational effectiveness.

• Develop and manage departmental operating plans and budgets.
• Allocate resources effectively to achieve operational goals and strategic priorities.
• Monitor productivity, staffing levels, vendor relationships, and departmental expenditures.

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance or related field or an equivalent combination of training and progressively responsible experience that will result in the required specialized knowledge and abilities to perform the assigned work.
• A Master's degree in Finance, Business, or Health Administration is preferred.

• Must have minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible Healthcare Registration related experience that demonstrates a high level of understanding of the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
• Requires prior management/leadership experience preferably in Business Office Operations within a multi-facility organization and/or highly automated environment.

• Epic Certification and HFMA certification is preferred.

• Must have demonstrated knowledge of third party payer requirements; eligibility requirements for the state AHCCCS program and Business Office operations; and Federal and State Fair Debt Collection Regulations.
• Requires knowledge of all aspect of the Collection Department, including Medicare, AHCCCS, Commercial, Managed Care, Work Comp and Self Pay guidelines and billing.
• Requires up-to-date knowledge and understanding of Federal compliance and OIG initiatives that impact the healthcare industry.
• Requires understanding of cash application and reconciliation principles, including impact to financial reporting.
• Requires understanding of credit, refunds, bad debt, charity care qualification, self-pay processing, and general customer service principles to ensure a positive patient experience.
• Requires knowledge of hospital operations and patient flow so as to be able to identify and analyze potential sources of error or patient dissatisfaction.
• Requires knowledge of healthcare accounts receivable management concepts, including in-depth knowledge of the state reimbursement and regulatory environment so as to ensure compliance with State regulations regarding patient and insurance billing issues.
• Must have a working knowledge of the principles and fundamentals related to record keeping and business writing, as well as knowledge of general administrative procedures, such as payroll, vendor management and purchasing.
• Requires knowledge of Epic and eligibility products, and knowledge of both hospital and professional billing.
• Requires the ability to select, organize, develop, and supervise staff; and build and manage a team of managers.
• Must be able to create and execute an annual operating plan that is a major component of the Valleywise Health IT operating plan and budget.
• Must be able to decide how to allocate people, time and other resource to accomplish an operating or project plan on time and within budget.
• Must be a successful leader of people, have outstanding leadership skills and the ability to motivate a team.
• Must be approachable, people oriented and a good listener.
• Requires the ability to be a change agent able to develop, implement and maintain policies and processes.
• Must be a creative, independent thinker.
• Must have solid analytical and problem-solving skills along with the ability to utilize the appropriate management techniques to plan, organize, control and coordinate Registration and Eligibility activities.
• Requires knowledge of information systems and software used in area of responsibility, and of equipment used in performing assigned duties.