Patient Navigator 3

University of California, San Francisco • Oakland, CA

13d

About The Position

The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Patient Navigator for the UCSF Pediatric Brain Center provides individualized assistance and support to patients throughout their care with Pediatric Neuro- Oncology, serving as a cross-bay resource and advocate for pediatric patients and families while they are going through the journey of diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The service is offered to pediatric patients from their initial visit to their ongoing post treatment appointments after discharge and ongoing monitoring throughout the patient’s pediatric life. The Pediatric Neuro- Oncology Patient Navigator’s primary goals are to increase patient satisfaction, and to optimize care and outcomes. S/he acts as a communication liaison to understand the patient's non-clinical individual needs, desires, and concerns. S/he guides the patient and family to a broad range of services, amenities, and information to promote healing and ensure satisfaction with the patient care experience. The Pediatric Neuro- Oncology Patient Navigator provides patient care coordination by serving as a communication bridge, when needed, between the patient, family and the practitioners and services s/he may require during their treatment. This involves developing expertise in the operations and systems underlying all service areas directly or indirectly related to Neuro- Oncology, including UCSF interdepartmental support for patients receiving care outside of Neuro-Oncology Services. The position requires self-initiative, as well as exceptional social skills and emotional intelligence in order to support patients with a wide variety of psycho-social needs and the ability to effectively communicate with faculty and staff throughout the clinical enterprise. To be effective in the position, the Pediatric Neuro- Oncology Patient Navigator shall remain current on inpatient care protocols that affect patients’ post discharge care on an outpatient basis. This includes attending grand rounds sessions reviewing patient safety, standardization of inpatient and outpatient protocols. This position is a vital and an integral part of the patient-centric care mission and direct patient education efforts of UCSF Pediatric Neuro- Oncology. It is the common goal of these programs to ensure patients have full, equitable and convenient access to the clinical services they require and to the health education information needed to make informed decisions about their care. Serves as a non-clinical resource and liaison for patients and their families. Assists with navigating all aspects of the healthcare system. Uses knowledge of the unit or clinic to resolve issues and identify ways to increase patient satisfaction. Collaborates with department managers to meet patient expectations, achieve quality outcomes and build a patient focused culture. The Pediatric Neuro- Oncology Patient Navigator for the UCSF Pediatric Brain Center provides individualized assistance and support to patients throughout their care with Pediatric Neuro- Oncology, serving as a resource and advocate for pediatric patients and families while they are going through the journey of diagnosis and treatment for cancer. The service is offered to pediatric patients from their initial visit to their ongoing post treatment appointments 2-3 weeks after discharge and ongoing monitoring during treatment for pediatric cancer. A particular focus is assisting patients coming to UCSF for second opinion or advanced cancer care from an outside-referring physician. Patient Navigator is responsible for ensuring an efficient visit that cover referring provider and patient needs. The Pediatric Neuro- Oncology Patient Navigator provides patient care coordination by serving as a communication bridge, when needed, between the patient, family and referring providers and services he/she may require during their treatment. This involves developing expertise in the operations and systems underlying all service areas directly or indirectly related to Pediatric oncology care at UCSF, including UCSF interdepartmental support for patients receiving care outside of Pediatric Neuro- Oncology. The position requires self-initiative, as well as exceptional social skills and emotional intelligence to support patients with a wide variety of psycho-social needs and the ability to effectively communicate with faculty and staff throughout the clinical enterprise. To be effective in the position, the Pediatric Oncology Patient Navigator shall remain current on inpatient care protocols, particularly Phase I protocols for which patients may be specifically referred for care to UCSF. To stay current, Patient Navigator will be expected to attend weekly tumor boards and other meetings where status of individual patients and development of new protocols is discussed. This position is a vital and an integral part of the patient-centric care mission and direct patient education efforts of UCSF Pediatric Neuro- Oncology. It is the common goal of this program to ensure patients have full, equitable and convenient access to the clinical services they require and to the health education information needed to make informed decisions about their care.

Requirements

• Strong knowledge of Patient Rights & Responsibilities, Joint Commission standards, and Centers for Medicare / Medicaid regulations.
• Knowledge of Medical Terminology.
• Strong knowledge of data collection, compilation, and analytical techniques.
• Strong skills to comprehend and assess patient's grievances to quickly locate appropriate resource for assistance.
• In-depth knowledge of the organization and how to get issues resolved.
• Strong interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Ability to communicate and resolve issues effectively with a diverse population of patients, staff and physicians.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to develop solutions and recommend changes and follow through with implementation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Windows-based software including Microsoft word, Excel, Outlook.
• Knowledge of computer systems and software used in functional area.
• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.

Responsibilities

• Provides support during patient stay or clinic visit. Recommends changes or new processes to increase patient satisfaction in navigating across the healthcare system for services.
• Liaisons with departments, proposes improvements to workflows; facilitates improved coordination of care based on each practice's scheduling requirements.
• Anticipates and initiates coordination activities; provides road maps for patients to set expectations and coordinate care in alignment with patient's needs
• Analyzes patient satisfaction reports and metrics to identify areas for improvement. Collaborates with managers and colleagues across the healthcare system to formulate and implement changes to processes and / or action plans. Investigates patient complaints and grievances about barriers (or perceived barriers) for patient satisfaction
• Addresses patient grievances at point of service. Identifies appropriate resource as needed. Investigates patient complaints and grievances about barriers (or perceived barriers) for patient satisfaction.
• Develops library of resources, and orientation information for patients. Provides new patients with an overview of resources and general information on billing, scheduling, and locating resources for clinical questions or concerns.
• Participates in medical center committees or task forces and other special projects as required to support improvements in the patient experience. Contributes to creating new marketing tools and follow-up surveys to increase patient awareness and positively impact overall business. May participate on teams for improvements in clinical applications, in conjunction with workflows.
• Collects, evaluates and presents meaningful use and / or relevant operations data and metrics for leadership. Establishes recommendations for follow up and action plans for improvement. Recommends changes or new processes to increase patient satisfaction in navigating across the healthcare system for services

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level