Penn Medicine

Description

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.

Today at Penn Medicine, someone will make a breakthrough. Someone will heal a heart, deliver hopeful news, and give comfort and reassurance. Our employees shape our future each day. Are you living your life's work?

Job Summary:

• Under minimal supervision, the Care Coordinator in Penn Signature Services (PSS) is responsible for providing the highest level of service for all prospective and current patients accessing the University of Pennsylvania Health System/Penn Medicine remote and in person services that are supported by PSS programs (Penn Passport, Executive Health, Patient Facilitated Services, Penn Global Medicine and The Pavilion at HUP). The Care Coordinator serves as the primary point of contact and liaison for the patient and is expected to seamlessly and proactively coordinate the service and medical care. The Care Coordinator also needs to coordinate communications with referring or sponsoring parties (e.g., University Trustees, University senior leaders, Development Officers on behalf of major donors, US and foreign governments, and US and global insurance companies, and senior leaders at many corporations, foundations, institutions connected to the University).
• As the primary point of contact across all parties involved in the coordination of the care process, the Care Coordinator is responsible for understanding the needs for a potential or current patient, determining the needed information or Penn Medicine department or physician to reach out to for advice or information, provide assistance to obtain needed medical information and then organizing for the potential care process. PSS program patients are either high profile in nature, destination patients, or patients paying a premium for special services that require many considerations for the timing and coordination for the care process that increasingly includes balancing telehealth options for support in advance of traveling to Philadelphia or coming to a Penn Medicine site for care. Destination patients require significant coordination due to the need for often multiple departments or services to be involved with upfront planning and arrival requirements. When PSS patients receive care at Penn Medicine, Care Coordinators are expected to provide proactive check-ins and be present and available on site as needed to liaise with the patient, representatives, and clinical service teams. Many global patients require interpreter services. Care Coordinators with needed language capabilities need to be trained to provide in person and remote interpreter services as needed. 
• Care Coordinators also need to be knowledgeable and adept in how to communicate with patients regarding financial considerations for self-paying patients or patients covered by governments or non-contracted insurances in coordination with PSS specialized Financial Coordinators. PSS programs provide 24/7 support that can require the input and assistance of the Care Coordinator who knows the patient and can support the process outside of business hours with many patients having access to staff mobile numbers with a high expectation for level of service. Care Coordinators may be needed on-site during non-business hours to assist a patient. Assures that all privacy and HIPAA standards are maintained throughout the entire duration of the patient's care continuum with particular attention and focus for patients who may be high profile.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the primary liaison between the patient and all corporate and clinical departments throughout the UPHS. Facilitate all non-clinical requests for the patient and/or caregiver(s). For clinical-related questions and inquiries identify the appropriate clinician and/or clinical department and ensure that all of the patient's questions are addressed in a timely manner. In collaboration with a clinician, ensure that all medical records are received and have been translated into English so that case review by clinical staff can proceed. Assist with the completion of timely remote medical second opinions, serving as the primary contact and liaison for all parties to coordinate logistics related to this service. Ensure appropriate communication and transfer of medical records to the patient’s referring physician upon patient discharge from the UPHS. Accountable for his/her patient caseload and must routinely meet and communicate with all internal/external stakeholders regarding the current status of the patient. Timely updates from embassies, government officials, and patient representatives will be provided to key stakeholders from the UPHS. 
• Perform intake assessments for domestic and international patients seeking care at UPHS, communicating with the patient and/or third party representative to ensure that all portions of the intake process are completed per PSS guidelines and standards. Inform patients of departmental and UPHS policies including HIPAA regulation, as well as policies surrounding insurance verification, referral and authorization, and point-of-service payment after communication with financial officers within the UPHS system has occurred. 
• Schedule and coordinate patient care appointments with all appropriate parties (this may include but is not limited to internal and external staff and stakeholders, individuals, representatives, brokers, third-party vendors, government agencies, and embassies). Meet the patient prior to appointments to communicate expectations. Work to facilitate resolution of scheduling issues encountered by the Contact Call Center, providing referral nurses and individuals with appropriate guidance (when applicable). 
• Meet and facilitate the navigation of patients and family members to appointments (may include early morning appointments and weekend appointments when deemed necessary). Provide follow up regarding ongoing services to the patient and caregiver(s) throughout continuum of care. 
• Evaluate requests made by the patient and by clinical staff for all clinical appointments, both inpatient and outpatient as well as patient transfers, to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the request and that the process is completed per institution guidelines. Additional requests will be facilitated at the discretion of senior management, and may include obtaining durable medical equipment for a patient, identifying third-party vendors, facilitating pharmacy requests, etc. 
• Arrange transportation for specific individuals within the PSS system, including but not limited to air evacuation, commercial flights, ad hoc. 
• Coordinate hotel accommodations or housing options, providing the patient and his/her family with appropriate options for lodging (short-term and long-term). 
• Assist with initial establishment of financial accounts (when applicable, as this applies mostly to our international patient population). 
• Maintain daily record of work activities including but not limited to daily patient call volume and completion of progress notes per PSS standards. Document all activity in the PSS database platform, Salesforce or other specified software. 
• Track sources of patient referrals, keeping pristine records of items including but not limited to the referring physician [s], patient’s country of origin, contact information in the Salesforce database. 
• Prepare reports that include but are not limited to data for patient dashboard(s), utilization of service reports, and patient placement decision reports. 
• Communicate HIPAA-compliant information to the UPHS Development Office on a routine basis. 
• Facilitate continuous improvement in patient satisfaction and patient ranking of quality of services. Identify service delivery/quality issues and implement/track corrective action plans with the oversight of PSS management.
• Participate in quality and process improvement initiatives and attend training sessions with PSS senior management and/or external vendors, as specified. 
• Facilitate inquires and requests regarding the PSS program and ensure that the appropriate stakeholders are aware of the information being requested. Manage and coordinate resolution of PSS patient relation issues and non-clinical matters when necessary. Will make no clinical decisions and will not communicate results of clinical tests/procedures/diagnostic testing to any individual but will forward any inquiries to clinical staff to ensure that the patient’s questions are answered in a timely fashion.
• Performs duties in accordance with Penn Medicine and entity values, policies, and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned to support the unit, department, entity, and health system organization.

Education/Experience:

• High School diploma/GED (Required)
• Bachelor's degree (Preferred)
• 3+ years of experience in a healthcare setting that involved significant interaction with patients and/or clinicians (Required)
• Experience in a position requiring customer service/client interaction (Preferred)
• Bilingual (Preferred)

Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated interpersonal/verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated written communication skills
• Utilizes proper telephone etiquette
• Client and customer relations skills
• Ability to use Microsoft Office (Excel, Power Point, Word)
• Ability to utilize critical thinking
• Ability to work within a multi-cultural environment
• Ability to demonstrate patience
• Proficiency in foreign languages

We believe that the best care for our patients starts with the best care for our employees. Our employee benefits programs help our employees get healthy and stay healthy. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits program that includes one of the finest prepaid tuition assistance programs in the region. Penn Medicine employees are actively engaged and committed to our mission. Together we will continue to make medical advances that help people live longer, healthier lives.

Live Your Life's Work

We are an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, domestic or sexual violence victim status, citizenship status, military status, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable law.