Patient Care Coordinator (Internal &Fam Med)

Unity Health Care.•Washington, DC

About The Position

Under the supervision of the Health Center Director, the Patient Care Coordinator (Internal & Family Medicine) is responsible for the recruitment of, outreach to and the navigation and coordination of services for vulnerable patients living with complex health needs. The position serves as an integral member of an inter-professional care management team working alongside medical providers, nurse care managers and social service staff to meet the needs of our patients. The position performs outreach and navigation services in a variety of Washington, DC settings, including the hospital, primary care clinics, patient homes, homeless shelters, and various other community settings.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED. College coursework in business or health-related field is preferred.
Two (2) years of experience providing care coordination service. Experience in a hospital and/or community/outpatient setting is preferred.
Experience working as a part of an inter-professional team.
Knowledge of medical terminology, ICD10 and procedural codes.
Familiarity with community health, discharge planning, chronic disease management.
Exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills, with attention to detail required; strong oral/written communication skills are a must.
Ability to work collaboratively in a team and manage multiple priorities, utilizes effective time management skills, and exercise sound professional judgment.
Demonstrated ability to work well with people of various ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and life experiences.
Proven ability to work collaboratively and productively with clinicians, administrators, patients, and other individuals from various backgrounds and skill sets.
Must have the ability to analyze data.
Demonstrated proficiency with business software (i.e., Microsoft Office Suite, EMR).
Requires the ability to travel to multiple office locations.

Responsibilities

Utilizes strength-based patient-centered motivational interviewing techniques to build rapport and help patients improve their health.
Participates in the development, maintenance, and adjustment of individualized care plans for high-risk patients that address both medical and social barriers to accessing care.
Acts as a professional liaison between hospitals, primary care providers, specialists, community resources and Managed Care Organizations on behalf of patients to ensure patient-centered care coordination.
Identifies and track special populations including high-risk patients and other populations due for preventive or chronic care services.
Helps patients obtain the care they want and need, when they need it, which may include: assistance with financial/insurance options, solutions for transportation and translation services, and/or removal or resolution of other barriers to care.
Identifies and track patients discharged from the inpatient service or the emergency department.
Utilizes team-based communication strategies to close the loop on referrals, hospital follow-ups and any outstanding items identified in the patient’s care plan.
Supports the primary care team by providing panel management to decrease the number of patients lost to care, non-compliant in follow up care and disconnected from primary care.
Performs outreach activities in primary care sites, homes, hospitals, and neighborhoods.
Identifies which appointments may be made for patients before leaving the clinic and strive to coordinate care before they leave (e.g., mammogram and/or specialists).
Identifies opportunities to close gaps in care.
Works with inter-professional team members to identify barriers to care with the goal of finding solutions and resources to remove the barriers to care.
Assists patients with navigating the healthcare system including but not limited to working with pharmacies, social service agencies, and insurance agencies as well as internal services such as the lab and other discharge processes.
Participates in interdisciplinary case conferences and team meetings.
Provides culturally appropriate health education.
Provides cultural mediation between communities and health and human needs.
Communicates patient-related needs to appropriate clinical staff including those on the patients care team as well as those providing care coordination and care management services.
Acts as liaison between patient and Primary Care Medical Home in resolution of problems or referral of appropriate resource.
With Support from nursing and social service staff, completes activities that helps inform the patient-centered care plan.
Adheres to Unity’s HIPAA guidelines and ensures the appropriate handling of sensitive information.
Performs other duties as assigned within the scope of position expectations.
Responsible for the recruitment of, outreach to and the navigation and coordination of services for medically-complex and vulnerable patients.
Serves as a member of an inter-professional “overlay” team composed of a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Site Program Coordinator. The team collectively manages care for difficult-to-reach patients and those that have higher levels of acuity, either because of health status or due to frequent utilization of the hospital system.
Supports the development and implementation of care coordination processes alongside care management team including but not limited to Registered Nurses, Social Service staff and My Health GPS program staff.
Manages a panel of complex, high-risk patients that are not well connected to care through outreach, scheduling of appointments, sharing in appointment visits and follow up of specialty visits.
Provides care coordination and navigation of services for patients following ER visits and hospitalization.
Performs home visits to recruit and maintain relationships with patients in need of coordinates care; complete community and home-based follow-up visits as needed.
Perform community-based outreach activities and working with referring providers in a clinical setting.
Builds positive rapport with staff on care teams.
Mentors site-based Care Coordinators to improve quality of services delivered to patients.