Program Specialist – Job Summary

The Program Specialist is responsible for serving as the customer’s primary point of contact providing
operational and reimbursement support to complex programs within Covance, including, but not limited
to, marketing support, reimbursement hotlines, patient assistance programs, Hubs, foundations, safety
surveillance programs, case management, and compliance programs. The focus of the Program Specialist
is to own issues and remove obstacles that prevent patients or providers from accessing the therapies
requested. The Program Specialist will be a self-starter who is comfortable taking initiative, identifying
barriers, being on the phones and working with the appropriate parties to eliminate these obstructions for
the customer. The Program Specialist is proficient and knowledgeable about all the services provided on
an assigned program and may support multiple client products or programs.

Essential Job Duties:

 Quickly and efficiently respond to incoming calls and faxes, identify how best to assist.
 Conduct outbound calls of insurance verifications to understand if patient’s prescribed therapy is
eligible for coverage. Document results in appropriate tracking system.
 Document calls in appropriate tracking systems, and handle/escalate calls per established
procedures.
 Process patient applications and follow the program's specifications to determine their eligibility.
Document results in appropriate tracking system and manage follow ups as appropriate. Place
follow up calls and respond to enquiries from patients and/or healthcare providers as necessary.
 Maintain a professional, calm and friendly demeanor. Express thoughts and instructions clearly in
both verbal and written communication; i.e. uses grammatically correct and concise language.
 Coordinate the order and transfer of prescriptions based on their degrees of urgency to specialty
pharmacies as appropriate.
 Be familiar with the market place and the insurance options available for patients. Educate patients
on the available options as appropriate.

Other duties as assigned

I. Experience:

Minimum Required:

The Program Specialist ideally should have two or more years of prior customer service, volunteering, or
other customer facing experience. Prior experience in healthcare and reimbursement industry
preferred, and the Program Specialist must be a proven problem solver with the ability, drive, and
initiative to learn the required healthcare, reimbursement, and customer service skills necessary to
support the assigned program(s). Experience in an office setting preferred.
III. Education/Qualifications/Certifications and Licenses

Minimum Required:

The Program Specialist ideally will hold a Bachelor’s degree or evidence of continual work towards a
degree is strongly preferred. Specialists without a degree must have a High School Diploma or GED, and
ideally should have 1 or more years of US healthcare or customer service work experience.

The Program Specialist should:

 Proficient in English, verbal and written
 Easily navigate between multiple computer programs with dexterity
 Adheres to schedule and meets deadlines.
 Demonstrate solid customer service skills in prior office, retail, or volunteer work.
 Understand each customer’s needs and tailors responses with those needs in mind
 Express empathy while speaking with customers.
 Be motivated to help customers every day and operate with a sense of accountability and
urgency.
 Thrive working in a very scheduled and collaborative work environment while also being able to
work independently.
 Adhere to schedule and meets deadlines.
 Express thoughts and instructions clearly in both oral and written communication; i.e. uses
grammatically correct, concise language.
 Pay close attention to detail and consistently be a keen problem solver.
 Adapt to changes and properly anticipate the next process steps when faced with ambiguous
scenarios.
 Learn information quickly, retain it, and effectively work on multiple tasks simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications:

 One or more years of experience working on the phones.