Surgery Scheduler

• Patient Scheduling:

  • Schedule surgeries in accordance with patient needs, surgeon availability, and facility schedules to ensure the smooth flow and progression of scheduled cases within the operating room at all University of Michigan sites (inclusive of joint venture sites).

  • Organize and secure surgery dates for patients through direct contact in clinic or via phone. 

  • Exercise initiative, independent judgment, and a service-oriented attitude while calling patients to schedule surgeries and provide instruction to prepare patients for their surgery based on established protocols. 

  • Coordinate and schedule pre- and post-operative appointments, follow up return visits, and tests as directed by faculty and/or nursing staff.

  • Obtain appropriate authorizations, medical clearances, outside medical records, and other required test results and ensure consents are in place.

• Schedule Management:

  • Utilize the electronic medical record to create and maintain the surgical schedule, considering surgeon availability, procedure complexity, operating room capacity, and appropriate turnaround times. 

  • Review and compare various calendars to verify which dates are available for surgery.

  • Prioritize and maintain OR case depots and operative waitlists.

  • Cancel/reschedule pre- and post-operative appointments according to physician schedule changes and notify appropriate clinic personnel. 
  • Complete and/or verify and enter all insurance authorization, and correspondence relating to referrals in patients charts and/or electronic medical records (EMR). 
  • Monitor and adjust surgery schedules based on changes in patient status or unexpected events. 
  • Assign operating rooms and equipment to each surgical case and initiate requests for urgent/emergent overbooks as well as incremental rooms as needed. 
  • Ensure information such as operative details, required equipment, and procedure codes are entered into MiChart correctly. 
  • Answer questions regarding pre-surgery documentation requirements involved with surgical cases as needed.

• Communication and In-Basket Coordination: 

  • Serve as the primary contact for direct surgery scheduling calls from our Call Center. 
  • Continually monitor the surgery scheduler in-basket in MiChart for new messages. 
  • Triage patient calls to nursing staff or physicians as appropriate. Answer patient queries of a general or program related nature 

• Administrative Tasks:

  • Maintain surgery logs or other required practice or case tracking logs.

  • Assist in the monitoring of OR utilization by division, faculty, and location, in efforts to maximize efficiency.

  • May lead daily huddles with topics and presentations to provide positive and effective collaboration.

  • Subject matter authority to the department and colleagues for the scheduling process.

  • Provide onboarding and training for new Surgery Scheduler hires.
  • Provide cross-coverage for other OR teams across Specialties.
  • Generate reports on surgical volume, utilization rates, and scheduling trends. 
  • Assist with quality improvement initiatives related to surgical scheduling. 

  • Perform other duties as assigned.

• High school diploma or GED.
• Prior relevant training or work experience in scheduling.
• Understanding of insurance policies and medical billing procedures.
• Proficient in electronic medical records (EMR) systems and other healthcare and scheduling software.
• Knowledge of medical terminology and surgical procedures.

• Relevant post -secondary education, such as a certificate or associate degree in healthcare administration, medical office management, or a related field.
• Experience working within a large, complex healthcare setting
• Experience in complex scheduling
• Experience as surgery scheduler
• Experience with MiChart, scheduling grids and CPT coding
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Able to work staggered schedule
• Ability to communicate and establish positive relationship with physicians
• Experience as surgery scheduler
• Experience with MiChart, scheduling grids and CPT coding
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Able to work staggered schedule
• Ability to communicate and establish positive relationship with physicians

This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally.  Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.