SVP of Patient Access

Discovery Behavioral Health•Irvine, CA

About The Position

Discovery Behavioral Health (DBH) is a national leader in behavioral healthcare and one of the fastest growing companies in the field. DBH offers world-class treatment for those struggling with eating disorders, mental health, and substance use and places a high priority on seeking employees who share our passion for improving the lives we serve. Since 1997, Discovery Behavioral Health has helped thousands of patients discover their path to the full and rewarding lives they deserve with evidence-based and inclusive treatment options. The Senior Vice President of Patient Access is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the organization’s patient growth engine, including Admissions, Clinical Outreach, Marketing, and Payor Strategy. This role oversees the full patient access journey to drive organizational growth, optimize referral pathways, improve payor relations, and ensure a seamless patient experience.

Requirements

10–15 years leadership experience in healthcare or behavioral health
Experience leading Admissions, Business Development (Clinical Outreach), Digital Marketing/Brand, and Payor functions

Responsibilities

Develops integrated patient acquisition strategy
Aligns Admissions, Sales, and Marketing into unified growth model
Partners with executive leadership on growth, capacity, and payor alignment
Manages budgets and forecasts prospect volume by channel, admissions, and census growth
Uses analytics to drive ROI and efficiency
Partners with Operations, Clinical, and Finance teams
Participates in executive planning and strategy
Oversees admissions department and strategies to improve conversion, speed to admission, and patient experience
Supports in optimizing VOB, financial clearance, and counseling processes
Monitors admissions KPIs and guides admissions leadership, as needed
Leads referral growth strategy across healthcare providers and partners
Oversees sales team performance, pipeline management, and plan to strengthen strategic referral relationships
Identifies opportunities for new business and strategies to grow those relationships
Supports sales leadership in directing outreach representative activity and aligning to business needs
Supervises the digital marketing channel and overarching brand strategy
Directs SEO optimization, paid media, and conversion strategies
Ensures digital presence achieves business goals and drives desired consumer behavior
Oversees Payor Relations department
Develops strategy to increase access to services for patients
Collaborates with payors to develop relationships to drive business and patient volume
Ensures cohesion with contracting strategy and overarching business strategy
Enhances use of technology throughout patient acquisition process to meet shifting consumer behavior and to drive improved conversion
Ensures brand consistency and trust
Builds and monitors performance dashboards across acquisition channels and identifies areas of opportunities for improvement