Behavioral Health Patient Placement Specialist

Beth Israel Lahey Health

4d•$67,392 - $90,698•Onsite

About The Position

The Behavioral Health Patient Placement Specialist is a key clinical member of the BILH Behavioral Health Transfer Center. This office-based role supports centralized coordination, clinical review, authorization, and placement of patients requiring inpatient behavioral health services across the health system. The specialist reviews referrals and clinical records, assesses admission appropriateness and level-of-care needs, coordinates accepted patients’ admissions, obtains payer authorizations, and escalates clinical concerns to appropriate leadership and medical staff. Working with inpatient behavioral health units, emergency departments, referring hospitals, providers, insurers, and community partners, the specialist acts as a clinical and operational liaison. The role supports appropriate placement, timely access, regulatory compliance, patient outcomes, system-wide bed capacity, seamless transitions, and operational excellence throughout 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 impact on behavioral health treatment planning and placement decisions.
Proficiency in 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 guidance, and recommend solutions to moderately complex problems.
Ability to analyze varied problems using observation, knowledge, skills, and general precedents.
Ability to follow procedures, organize and prioritize work within general guidelines, and seek assistance in difficult or unpredictable situations.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English and to converse in English with staff, patients, families, and external customers.
Working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures, and policies, with 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 service using active listening and problem-solving, and to remain calm in stressful situations.
Ability to maintain close attention to detail, adapt to varied daily work, use independent judgment, and manage priorities.
Ability to perform sedentary work, including constant sitting and computer monitor and keyboard use; occasional fine manipulation with one hand; and occasional walking and standing.

Nice To Haves

Epic experience.

Responsibilities

Review electronic medical records, referral documentation, psychiatric evaluations, and supporting clinical information to determine appropriateness for inpatient behavioral health admission.
Apply admission, exclusion, and level-of-care criteria to referrals and escalate cases requiring physician, psychiatric, or leadership review.
Assess patient acuity, treatment needs, medical and psychiatric complexity, and level-of-care requirements to facilitate placement decisions.
Coordinate and facilitate admissions for accepted patients across behavioral health services.
Obtain necessary clinical information from referring hospitals, emergency departments, community providers, and other referral sources to coordinate patient transitions.
Participate in and lead quality improvement initiatives focused on behavioral health 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 leaders, including the Director of Behavioral Health Admissions, on-call psychiatrist or physician, and nursing leadership.
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 stakeholders.
Obtain, coordinate, and document prior authorizations and payer approvals for inpatient behavioral health admissions, transfers, and other clinically 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 internal clinical teams and 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.
Develop 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 initiatives related to behavioral health admissions, transfers, and placement.
Maintain understanding of regulatory standards and ensure compliance with requirements from DMH, DPH, The Joint Commission, CMS, commercial 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, de-escalation training, and other organizational education.
Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.