JR82421Transplant Practice Specialist- BIDMC (Heart Transplant Program, 40 hours)

Transplant Practice Specialist

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you're making a difference in people's lives. The Transplant Practice Specialist provides support to the multi-disciplinary clinical team by managing the patient appointment schedule, obtaining insurance approval for appointments, and answering the main phone line. Serves as a primary point of contact for patients and visitors in an outpatient unit and provides excellent customer service through clear communication. As the Heart Transplant Program develops and grows, there is a need for an experienced administrator to assist in physician referral contact, scheduling patient evaluations, and supporting transplant nurses and providers. Upcoming patient updates, appointments, and an increase in current advanced heart failure referrals for transplant will require this supportive role.

Within the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Heart Transplant Practice Specialist will collaborate with the nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners of the program to assist in the safe delivery of patient care. Additional support staff of the Heart Transplant department includes administrative assistants, data coordinators, and financial coordinators. The multi-disciplinary approach used for patients during the evaluation, pre-operative, and post-transplant phases of care helps to ensure that all groups are involved throughout the heart transplant process. In 2024, the Advanced Heart Failure Program will move into a new ambulatory space that will include clinic space for patient evaluation as well as administrative offices for the multi-disciplinary team members.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Obtains referrals required for patient prior to scheduled visits; maintains 100% compliance with referral management requirements and current knowledge base of referral and authorization rules and related policies for multiple insurance and managed care payers, including transplant-specific policies; maintains record of referral, level of care, and number of visits being authorized.
• Assists patients with full registration, updates insurance information at each visit to ensure collection of accurate information for billing and accurate capture of pre-transplant services; collaborates with Financial Coordinator to verify that mandatory policies are followed; notifies Financial Coordinator of insurance changes identified at check-in.
• Performs check-ins, coordinates, and schedules multiple new and follow-up appointments in person, via e-mail, and over the phone to support a multidisciplinary team including surgeons, hepatologists, nephrologists, infectious diseases specialists, social workers, and nutritionists.
• Confirms correct insurance type, type of visit, and demographic information.
• Collaborates with Transplant Nurse Care Coordinators to maintain up-to-date patient information in the Organ Transplant and Tracking Record database and records time per instructions on the monthly Medicare time study.
• Answers, screens, and processes a high volume of calls in a professional manner; utilizes and adheres to the phone scripts and guidelines for triaging calls; asks appropriate questions and uses independent judgment within the scope of knowledge and authority to determine the type of appointment, appropriate provider, and urgency needed.
• Records and forwards accurate messages to providers and staff.

Required Qualifications:

• High School diploma or GED required. Associate's degree preferred.
• 1-3 years of related work experience required.
• Experience with computer systems required, including web-based applications and some Microsoft Office applications, which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in healthcare strongly preferred.

Competencies:

Decision Making: Ability to make decisions that are guided by general instructions and practices requiring some interpretation. May make recommendations for solving problems of moderate complexity and importance.

Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are varied, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation using direct observation, knowledge, and skills based on general precedents.

Independence of Action: Ability to follow precedents and procedures. May set priorities and organize work within general guidelines. Seeks assistance when confronted with difficult and/or unpredictable situations. Work progress is monitored by the supervisor/manager.

Written Communications: Ability to summarize and communicate in English moderately complex information in varied written formats to internal and external customers.

Oral Communications: Ability to comprehend and communicate complex verbal information in English to medical center staff, patients, families, and external customers.

Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures, and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.

Team Work: Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.

Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff, and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Physical Nature of the Job: Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally in carrying, lifting, pushing, or pulling objects. Sitting most of the time, with walking and standing required only occasionally.