Ophthalmology Front Desk, Insurance Support & Prior Authorization

Remote | Ophthalmology | 40 hours/week | $5-$6/hour

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Virtual Medical Assistant to provide front-desk, insurance, and prior authorization support for a busy ophthalmology practice supporting two physicians.

This is a highly phone-focused role requiring someone who is comfortable managing a high volume of inbound and outbound calls while coordinating patient scheduling, insurance-related concerns, prior authorizations, and other administrative needs. The ideal candidate is organized, confident speaking with patients and insurance representatives, and able to manage competing priorities independently in a fast-paced clinical environment.

Key Responsibilities

High-Volume Phone & Front Desk Support

• Manage a high volume of inbound and outbound patient calls while providing professional, efficient, and compassionate assistance.

• Answer patient questions, route clinical concerns appropriately, take accurate messages, and coordinate follow-up for both physicians.

• Monitor voicemails, patient requests, and outstanding callbacks to ensure time-sensitive concerns are addressed promptly.

Appointment Scheduling & Patient Coordination

• Schedule, reschedule, and confirm ophthalmology appointments based on provider availability, visit type, and established clinic protocols.

• Coordinate appointments and follow-up care for patients of two physicians, ensuring schedules remain accurate and efficiently utilized.

• Communicate appointment instructions, reminders, required documentation, and other pre-visit information to patients.

Insurance Verification & Eligibility

• Verify patient insurance eligibility, benefits, coverage, copays, deductibles, and other relevant information before scheduled services.

• Contact insurance companies and payer portals to clarify coverage requirements, referral requirements, and authorization status.

• Document insurance information accurately in the patient's record and communicate potential coverage or eligibility issues to the appropriate clinic team.

Prior Authorization & Referral Support

• Initiate and follow up on prior authorization requests for medications, procedures, diagnostic testing, or other ophthalmology-related services.

• Gather required clinical information, submit documentation through payer portals or other authorization platforms, and monitor pending requests.

• Communicate authorization approvals, denials, additional documentation requests, and next steps to providers and appropriate clinic staff.

Administrative & Clinical Support

• Maintain accurate patient demographics, insurance information, scheduling notes, authorization records, and communication documentation within the EMR.

• Work through assigned tasks, patient messages, provider requests, and administrative follow-ups while prioritizing urgent items appropriately.

• Coordinate closely with physicians and clinic staff to ensure patient concerns, insurance issues, and pending administrative requirements are resolved efficiently.

Qualifications

• At least 1 year of experience as a Medical Virtual Assistant, Medical Receptionist, Patient Coordinator, or similar healthcare administrative role.

• Experience handling high-volume medical phone calls is strongly preferred.

• Experience supporting multiple physicians or providers simultaneously is highly preferred.

• Hands-on experience with insurance verification, eligibility and benefits, referrals, and prior authorizations.

• Familiarity with US healthcare terminology, insurance processes, HIPAA requirements, and medical office workflows.

• Previous experience in ophthalmology, optometry, or another specialty practice is an advantage.

• Comfortable working with EMR/EHR systems, insurance portals, Microsoft Teams, and other healthcare communication platforms.

• Strong spoken and written English communication skills.

• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to multitask and manage a high volume of patient and administrative requests.

• Reliable, detail-oriented, proactive, and capable of working independently in a remote environment.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a strong medical front-desk professional who can confidently manage phones, patients, schedules, insurance, and authorizations without becoming overwhelmed by volume. They should be comfortable supporting two busy physicians, know how to prioritize urgent versus routine requests, and consistently follow through on unresolved patient or insurance concerns.

Experience in ophthalmology is helpful, but candidates with strong transferable experience in medical front desk, insurance verification, prior authorization, and high-volume patient coordination will also be considered.