Manager, Patient Relations

Beth Israel Lahey Health

1d•$130,000 - $160,000

About The Position

BIDMC is seeking a Manager, Patient Relations, in the Healthcare Quality Department to promote Just Culture and High Reliability. Reporting to the Director of Patient Safety, this role oversees collaborative Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management staff functions. The position leads daily operations, integrates with clinical service lines, optimizes workflows, and uses process redesign and change management to support best practices in accordance with enterprise and regulatory standards. The Manager oversees a high-volume, fast-paced workload involving patient relations and collaborative patient safety and risk management activities. The role supports staff, providers, and leaders in responding to patient concerns; manages complaint and grievance investigations and resolution; reviews cases and related data; identifies trends; supports regulatory reporting; and contributes to training and process improvement. The position has direct responsibility for hiring, termination, corrective action, and performance reviews, and directs employees’ daily work. It has 4–6 direct reports and no indirect reports.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
8–10 years of related work experience required, including 3–5 years of supervisory or management experience in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, Quality Assurance, Risk Management, and/or Claims Investigation.
Extensive experience collaborating with healthcare roles and seniority levels on mitigation of adverse events and process improvements.
Formal training in Just Culture and High Reliability Organization (HRO) methodology required.
Advanced skills with Microsoft applications, which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access, and other web-based applications; ability to produce complex documents, perform analysis, and maintain databases.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day patient relations and collaborative patient safety and risk management activities in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
Model and support staff in coordinating timely investigation, review, response, and resolution of patient complaints and grievances within deadlines.
Consult with and support frontline staff, providers, and leaders on responding to patient concerns verbally and in writing.
Coach staff on disclosure, apology, and documentation processes.
Help author and quality-assure letters of resolution, expectation, and termination.
Interpret the Patient's Bill of Rights, hospital policies, and non-medical procedures for patients and families.
Track and quality-assure feedback entered in the STARS Reporting System.
Conduct case review meetings and audits of complaint and grievance files, and provide status reports to staff and leadership.
Escalate complex cases to the Director and Medical Director and keep them informed of outstanding or unresolved incidents.
Monitor and report trends in patient and family concerns and complaints to identify systemic issues, process problems, or barriers to patient- and family-centered care.
Facilitate internal and external reporting of patient complaint and survey data as required by regulators, payers, and accrediting organizations.
Communicate with malpractice insurers as appropriate.
Participate in the Threat Assessment Team, Behavior Management Team, Communication Apology and Resolution (CARe), and Peer Support Programs.
Attend regulatory surveys and other meetings on site and virtually as required.
Update policies, PowerPoints, and training materials.
Provide administrative support to leadership, committees, and process improvement project teams.
Onboard and train others in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management functions to support smooth staffing transitions.
Direct and support employees’ daily work activities, and undertake hiring, termination, corrective action, and performance reviews.