Perioperative Services Practice Assistant BWH

Mass General Brigham•Boston, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Perioperative Services Practice Assistant works within the Perioperative Services department at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). This role is crucial for coordinating the safe, efficient, and effective flow of patients through the unit, handling an average of forty to sixty admissions and discharges daily. The position requires consistent interaction with perioperative patients, their families, and the surgical unit staff, often in stressful circumstances. The Practice Assistant is responsible for managing a variety of simultaneous tasks to support the efficient functioning of the Peri-Anesthesia Units.

Requirements

High school diploma
Customer service experience in a hospital setting
Secretarial experience in a hospital setting
Knowledge of current medical and surgical technology, electronic medical record systems helpful
General computer literacy
Data entry skills
Self-direction
Independent thinker
Ability to prioritize
Ability to maintain confidentiality
Physical ability to push/pull occupied beds and wheelchairs

Nice To Haves

Partial college education
Bilingual desirable

Responsibilities

Courteously greet patients and family members, complete all admission information, correctly identify each patient, place correct armband, and determine NPO status.
Notify appropriate nurse of the arrival of Day Surgery patients, Pre-op Holding of same day admissions, and/or PACU of inpatient admissions from the Main OR.
Assign patients to beds according to the plan set forth by the Nurse in Charge.
Log in all patients into Epic promptly and accurately for event times and length of stay, ensuring correct statistical data and financial reimbursement.
Correct patient files in the Epic system by deleting discharged patients.
Prepare patient schedules for the front desk check-in area, pre- and postoperative areas, and the PACU.
Update schedules and inform all appropriate personnel and areas of OR time changes.
Ascertain that valuables are properly cared for.
Document family member information for MD and determine discharge transportation status for day surgery patients.
Periodically and independently update family on patient’s status, changes, and delays, acting as a liaison among patient, family, and surgical staff.
Review charts for abnormal flagged items in the preoperative area in conjunction with Epic notes.
Maintain and update MD service lists, as well as those of radiology, respiratory, and EKG technicians, and others with correct page numbers.
Record and update the list of Anesthesia staff coverage for PACU.
Answer a multi-line telephone set within four rings, confirming scheduled arrival times, issuing preoperative instructions, accepting clearance calls from 48 operating rooms, eliciting special patient requirements, directing post-operative patient calls, and screening/routing other calls.
Interpret or arrange language interpretation for patients and families.
Maintain par levels for all unit supplies, including forms, secretarial supplies, respiratory supplies, value links supplies, food stuffs, patient-controlled anesthesia supplies, epidural pumps, oximeter probes, and EKG supplies.
Follow up with Clinical Engineering on the status of repaired or replaced equipment and report to the Nurse in Charge.
Document quality assurance activities for various procedures and devices as needed.
Arrange for, or participate directly in, the transportation of patients from the unit.
Float to all other areas as necessary and perform essential secretarial duties of the PACU, Preop, ERU, and OR desks.
Run reports from EPIC electronic medical record system to determine the number of out-of-OR patients expected, flag arrival times and external appointment times for PreOp Nurse In Charge.
Run daily report from EPIC for next-day reminder calls to all surgical patients.
Walk all out-of-OR patients to their appointment destinations prior to surgery (Mammography, Nuclear Medicine, CT Scan, Radiology).