Behavioral Health Patient Placement Specialist - Per-diem

Beth Israel Lahey Health

1d•$36 - $48•Onsite

About The Position

The Behavioral Health Patient Placement Specialist is a clinical member of the BILH Behavioral Health Transfer Center, coordinating the review, authorization, and placement of patients requiring inpatient behavioral health services across the health system. This office-based role reviews referrals and clinical records, supports admission decisions, coordinates patient placement, obtains payer authorizations, and escalates clinical concerns to appropriate leaders and medical staff. The specialist works with inpatient behavioral health units, emergency departments, referring hospitals, providers, insurers, and community partners to match patients with appropriate levels of care, support timely access, maintain regulatory compliance, and promote effective patient transitions. The role also supports system-wide bed capacity, patient flow, quality improvement, and operational processes across the behavioral health continuum.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Nursing, Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Healthcare Administration, or another behavioral health or healthcare-related field.
At least two years of experience in behavioral health, psychiatric services, care coordination, case management, utilization management, transfer center operations, patient placement, emergency psychiatry, or a related clinical setting.
Knowledge of behavioral health diagnoses, psychiatric admission criteria, level-of-care determinations, risk assessment, and behavioral health treatment systems.
Understanding of medical comorbidities and their effects on behavioral health treatment planning and placement decisions.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and electronic medical record systems.
Experience interpreting medical necessity criteria and working with managed care organizations and payer authorization processes.
Exceptional communication, critical-thinking, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams and with external partners.
Strong commitment to patient-centered care, operational excellence, and continuous process improvement.
Ability to make decisions guided by general instructions and practices, interpret situations, and recommend solutions to moderately complex problems.
Ability to analyze varied problems using observation, knowledge, skills, and general precedents.
Ability to follow procedures, set priorities, organize work within general guidelines, and seek assistance with difficult or unpredictable situations.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English and converse in English with staff, patients, families, and external customers.
Working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures, and policies, and the ability to apply them in varied situations.
Ability to collaborate in small teams, offer ideas, identify issues, and respect team members.
Ability to provide professional, respectful, service-oriented customer care using active listening and problem-solving skills, and remain calm in stressful situations.
Ability to pay close attention to detail, adapt to varied daily work, exercise independent judgment, and manage priorities.
Ability to perform sedentary work, including prolonged sitting and computer monitor and keyboard use; occasional walking, standing, lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling up to 10 pounds; and occasional fine manipulation with one hand.
Ability to meet the organization’s requirement that staff be vaccinated against influenza as a condition of employment.

Nice To Haves

Epic experience.

Responsibilities

Review electronic medical records, referral documents, psychiatric evaluations, and other clinical information to assess suitability for inpatient behavioral health admission.
Apply admission, exclusion, and level-of-care criteria to determine placement options and escalate cases requiring physician, psychiatric, or leadership review.
Assess patient acuity, treatment needs, medical and psychiatric complexity, and level-of-care requirements.
Coordinate admissions and facilitate timely placement across behavioral health services.
Obtain necessary clinical information from referring hospitals, emergency departments, community providers, and other referral sources, and coordinate patient transitions.
Participate in and lead quality improvement initiatives related to access, placement efficiency, patient flow, and care coordination.
Serve as a central resource and liaison for internal and external behavioral health placement inquiries.
Identify complex, high-risk, or clinically concerning cases and escalate concerns to designated clinical and operational leaders.
Escalate concerns involving medical stability, patient safety, behavioral acuity, regulatory requirements, capacity limitations, or admission appropriateness.
Collaborate with physicians, advanced practice providers, nursing leaders, and interdisciplinary teams to resolve clinical barriers to admission and placement.
Communicate accurate and timely clinical information to support decision-making by relevant stakeholders.
Obtain, coordinate, and document prior authorizations and payer approvals for inpatient behavioral health admissions, transfers, and other indicated services.
Work with commercial insurers, managed care organizations, Medicaid, Medicare, and other payers to facilitate authorization decisions and timely access to care.
Communicate authorization status, limitations, and coverage determinations to clinical teams and other relevant stakeholders.
Partner with behavioral health units to optimize bed utilization, patient flow, and capacity management.
Monitor placement activities and contribute to system-wide throughput and access goals.
Build and maintain collaborative relationships with referral sources, payers, physicians, clinical teams, hospital departments, and community partners.
Participate in developing, implementing, and improving workflows and operational processes that enhance access to behavioral health services.
Support data collection, reporting, and quality improvement related to behavioral health admissions, transfers, and placement.
Maintain knowledge of regulatory standards and ensure compliance with applicable requirements from DMH, DPH, The Joint Commission, CMS, payers, and other governing agencies.
Promote quality, safety, patient-centered care, and continuous improvement throughout the admissions and transfer process.
Complete required competencies, certifications, and annual training, including CPR, risk management, and de-escalation training.
Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.