Medical Assistant - Care Coordinator (Full-time, Monday - Friday )

Organization Overview, Mission, Vision, and Values

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the communities we serve through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education. Washington Regional Medical System is a community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas in the heart of Fayetteville, which is consistently ranked among the Best Places to live in the country. Our 425-bed medical center has been named the #1 hospital in Arkansas for five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. We employ 3,200+ team members and serve the region with over 40 clinic locations, the region's only Level II trauma center, and five Centers of Excellence - the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors.

Position Summary

The RMA/CMA Care Coordinator supports quality performance and care coordination across assigned clinic panels by auditing patient charts for open care gaps, assisting with root cause analysis of quality and process gaps, conducting patient outreach to close care gaps and address coordination needs, managing episodic care needs including outreach following Emergency Department (ED) visits, and supporting quality improvement and practice transformation initiatives. This role works closely with Care Managers, Care Coordinators, providers, and the Practice Transformation team to help ensure patients receive timely, well-documented, and coordinated care.

Essential Position Responsibilities

Chart Audits for Care Gap Closure

• Conduct chart audits within Epic to identify open care gaps across assigned quality measures (e.g., HEDIS, ACO, Collaboratives).
• Verify whether documentation, coding, or completed services support closure of identified gaps, and flag discrepancies for correction.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date tracking of audit findings and closure status by clinic and provider panel.
• Identify documentation or workflow patterns contributing to recurring open gaps and report trends to Practice Transformation leadership.

Root Cause Analysis Support

• Assist in gathering data and chart-level detail to support root cause analysis of quality gaps, missed measures, or process breakdowns.
• Participate in root cause analysis discussions with the Practice Transformation and clinical operations team, contributing frontline and chart-level context.
• Help document findings and proposed corrective actions from root cause analysis reviews.
• Support tracking of corrective action follow-through to confirm identified issues are resolved.

Patient Outreach - Care Gap Closure & Care Coordination

• Conduct patient outreach (phone, MyChart, or mail) to close identified care gaps and schedule needed services.
• Educate patients on the purpose and importance of recommended screenings, visits, or services tied to open care gaps.
• Identify and address barriers to care (transportation, scheduling conflicts, insurance, health literacy) and connect patients with appropriate team members for resource referral.
• Coordinate with referral sources, specialists, and community resources to support timely closure of care needs.
• Document all outreach attempts, outcomes, and follow-up actions accurately and timely in Epic.

Episodic Care Management & Post-ED Outreach

• Identify patients with recent Emergency Department visits through ED notifications, Epic reports, or care team referrals.
• Conduct timely post-ED outreach to assess patient status, understanding of discharge/ED instructions, medication or follow-up needs, and risk for recurrent ED use.
• Coordinate scheduling of needed follow-up appointments with the PCP or appropriate specialist.
• Provide short-term episodic care coordination support for patients with acute or transitional needs outside the standard care gap workflow.
• Escalate urgent clinical concerns identified during outreach to the LPN Care Coordinator, RN Care Manager, or supervising provider.
• Document all post-ED outreach and episodic care coordination activity in Epic in accordance with program requirements.

Qualifications

Required

• Active Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) or Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification in good standing or the ability to obtain within 6 months of employment.
• Prior experience in a clinical, medical assistant, or care coordination role.
• Working knowledge of electronic health record systems (Epic preferred).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage patients empathetically by phone and in writing.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent audits, outreach lists, and program requirements.

Preferred

• Experience with quality measure programs such as HEDIS, ACO, or Collaborative.
• Familiarity with chart audit processes and root cause analysis methodology.
• Experience supporting quality improvement or practice transformation initiatives.

Core Competencies

• Attention to detail in chart review and documentation accuracy.
• Analytical thinking to support root cause identification and trend recognition.
• Patient-centered communication and relationship-building.
• Ability to prioritize a mixed workload across audits, outreach, and episodic care needs.
• Collaborative, team-based approach with providers, Care Managers, Practice Transformation and clinic leadership.
• Comfort working within defined RMA/CMA scope of practice under National and State regulations and clinic policy.

Work Environment: This role requires a combination of clinical and office-based activity. The position may involve extended periods of standing and walking, as well as occasional pushing, pulling, lifting, or carrying materials up to 50 pounds. The role also includes time spent sitting and working in a standard office environment. Depending on the care setting, the position may be exposed to communicable diseases, bodily fluids, and other typical healthcare workplace conditions. This position serves a culturally and linguistically diverse patient population.

Notice: This job description is designed to provide an overview of the essential and principal duties and responsibilities of the position. The job description is not designed or intended to cover or set forth a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Washington Regional reserves the right in its absolute discretion to change duties, responsibilities or activities or assign new duties, responsibilities, or activities at any time with or without notice. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.