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Among the team members who help patients and families get the care they need are, from left, Stacy Martin, associate director of ambulatory access; physician schedulers Eleanor Young, Jeremy Moore, Rhett Giordano and Kayla Taylor, associate director of ambulatory access management.
Among the team members who help patients and families get the care they need are, from left, Stacy Martin, associate director of ambulatory access; physician schedulers Eleanor Young, Jeremy Moore, Rhett Giordano and Kayla Taylor, associate director of ambulatory access management.

That’s My Job: Physician Scheduler

Published on Monday, February 24, 2025

By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu

Photos By: Melanie Thortis/ UMMC Communications

A kind voice, a helpful attitude, empathy and an ability to connect patients to care. Those are a few of the qualities of physician schedulers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“Our physician schedulers make UMMC’s first impression with patients and their families,” said Elizabeth Beasley, director of UMMC’s Patient Contact Center. "You may never get a second chance to make a good first impression. If a patient calls UMMC and has problems getting an appointment, they are likely to call someone else. That’s why it is so important for physician schedulers to be friendly, efficient and empathetic in helping patients get the appointments they need at times that work best for them.”

Inside the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children's of Mississippi, physician scheduler Jeremy Moore works to connect patients and their families with care.
Inside the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children's of Mississippi, physician scheduler Jeremy Moore works to connect patients and their families with care.

The 153 physician schedulers who serve UMMC and Children’s of Mississippi patients either answer calls from patients or referring physicians’ offices or are contacting patients to set follow-up appointments after a hospital stay.

Rhett Giordano, a UMMC employee for three years, is a Children’s of Mississippi concierge, making appointments to fit parents’ busy schedules at the outpatient specialty clinics inside the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower in Jackson and at Children’s of Mississippi clinic locations around the state.

“Most of the families we serve are new patients,” he said, “so we want to make sure they get the appointments they need and understand how to get there.”

Kayla Taylor is associate director of ambulatory access management.
Kayla Taylor is associate director of ambulatory access management.

Often Children’s of Mississippi concierge schedulers will schedule multiple appointments at the same location when possible to reduce travel for families.

Schedulers not only work with clinics but with other schedulers to find times and dates that work for patients and families.

“We try to make things smooth,” said Eleanor Young, who schedules dermatology appointments for adults and children.

Dr. Jeremy Jackson, chair of dermatology, said schedulers’ efforts are appreciated.

Jeremy Jackson
Jackson

“Eleanor is a superstar,” he said. “She is exactly who you would want your patients to interact with when they call UMMC. She is always professional, always kind, and always helpful.”

Jeremy Moore, a physician scheduler based in the Sanderson Tower, said working with clinic team members makes it possible to provide children and families with appointments coordinated to make health care more easily accessible. He can also reassure families who are coming to Children’s of Mississippi for the first time.

“I can vouch for the care because I know the caregivers,” he said. “I wouldn’t tell our families that if I didn’t believe it.”

Beasley said the respect and care schedulers show to patients and their families is part of the unique skill set that sets physician schedulers apart.

“The bottom line is that you have to have a passion for serving patients and physicians, finding the dates and times that will work best for both,” she said. “That means greater access to health care for Mississippians and smoother clinic operations.”