Medical Secretary

**Medical Secretary**

**JOB TITLE**: Medical Secretary

**REPORTS TO**: PRACTICE MANAGER

**Referrals**:

- To provide support to the Doctors and Health Professionals in the Practice incorporating the use of the digital dictation system.
- To type letters, reports and other documents as required by the partners, Practice manager and other team members
- To process referrals using the e-RS system or other pathways as appropriate
- To ensure that all referral letters are typed and sent within 48 hours (routine appointments) and 24 hours (2WW and urgent). Make hospital appointments for patients via e-referral system
- To check e-RS worklists during the day for any referrals where advice has been received, any referrals that have been rejected or cancelled, or any referrals that have been deferred
- To provide advice to clinicians on appropriate referral pathways
- To deal with patient queries about referrals
- To train new members of admin team in referrals and other admin tasks.
- To communicate effectively with patients and carers recognising people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
- To chase up all hospital appointments, results, letters and other queries when requested to do so by clinicians.
- To maintain audit data re hospital DNAs and check with patients as appropriate

**Medical Records**:

- Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc. are filed/scanned in correct records
- To ensure your own knowledge is kept up to date, making yourself aware of any changes through QOF or best practice that affect your role

**Appointment system**:

- To be familiar with all appointment systems
- To assist with the reception duties at time of shortages including answering phones and booking appointments
- To help with inviting patients during flu season and any other campaigns.

**Other Administration duties**:

- To deal with all non-NHS requests including insurance and solicitors queries, in line with agreed policies and best practice
- To deal with Subject Access Requests adhering to the practice policies and protocols
- To action/assign any unassigned tasks as appropriate
- To attend meetings and take minutes when required
- To be flexible to cover holidays and sickness to maintain the access required. This may involve changing working day start and finish times and/or working overtime.
- Dealing with the Electronic Document Interchange “Links”
- To cover vaccinations clinics to input data in the system
- Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the Partners or the Practice Manager.

**Confidentiality**:
This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service.
- In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
- In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
- Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

**Safeguarding**:

- Be aware of the child & adult safeguarding procedures, local guidance and referral criteria

**Health & Safety**:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:

- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
- Using correct PPE as required by the workplace.
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role
- Under