Intake Clinician RN- FT Nights

Summit BHC•Harlingen, TX

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Intake Clinician RN performs daily patient intake and/or admissions operations, which may include screening, financial counseling, insurance verification, and assessment at or outside the facility, depending on patient or hospital needs. The clinician screens and assesses admissions for clinical and medical appropriateness and communicates findings to a physician, who determines admission and level of care. The role works closely with business office, nursing, clinical staff, and external parties to facilitate timely admissions and responds to admissions inquiries. The position is an onsite, individual-contributor role. It may also provide medication administration and patient-unit coverage in accordance with physician orders, psychiatric supervision, and facility and licensing protocols.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited school of nursing.
Valid current RN license from the state or a compact state, where applicable.
Experience in clinical interviewing, patient assessment, referral, treatment planning, and communicating with external review organizations or comparable entities.
Experience in the managed care pre-certification process, level-of-care assessments, and utilization.
Outstanding interpersonal, interviewing, and assessment skills.
Skill in telephone etiquette and paging procedures.
CPR and de-escalation and restraint certification required; training is available upon hire and offered by the facility.
First aid may be required based on state or facility requirements.

Nice To Haves

BSN preferred.
One or more years of experience in mental health or substance use disorder admissions preferred.

Responsibilities

Facilitate admissions and assessments for incoming patients, including initial evaluations and integrated assessment documentation of symptoms, functioning, and needs.
Collaborate with facility medical and psychiatric staff on recommendations and admissions, and communicate projected admissions to designated internal representatives.
Provide additional Call Center Team coverage by answering phones, processing admission requests, reviewing and accepting patients, verifying insurance, and assisting with insurance pre-certifications during high-volume periods.
Gather medical admission documentation from external sources and secure initial pre-authorization for treatment and admission.
Review patient charts for medical necessity and staff referrals and assessments with an appropriate physician to obtain orders, recommendations, and DSM-V diagnoses when appropriate.
Communicate treatment recommendations and coordinate with other treatment teams.
May administer medications, follow physician orders in consultation with a psychiatrist, educate patients about side effects, assess understanding and compliance, adjust medications under psychiatrist supervision as needed, and monitor lab results.
May maintain accountability for medication administration, recording, control, and security, including narcotics, and complete Adverse Drug Reaction forms as necessary.
Advocate for the lowest level of care consistent with patient needs and coordinate admissions and transfers between facility levels of care.
Ensure thorough and accurate patient documentation on each shift and facilitate service requests through response, assessment, referral, level-of-care designation, initiation or admission into services, and follow-up.
Respond to facility inquiries within facility policy timeframes.
Perform insurance benefit verifications and share gathered information with patients, families, and appropriate facility staff; provide ongoing assessment of patient status during admissions.
Perform other assigned duties, including assisting on the patient unit.