Transplant Clinical Assistant

At Houston Methodist, the Transplant Clinical Assistant position is responsible for assisting the Transplant Coordinators in all activities related to patient care. This position will communicate closely with the Coordinators to provide a continuum of care for the patient. In addition to scheduling procedures and diagnostic testing for patients, the Transplant Clinical Assistant position will assist with prescription refill management per protocol; including assisting with medication prior authorization as applicable. This position is responsible for updating and maintaining patient's disposition in electronic medical record (EMR) and prepares records for insurance companies for financial clearance. The Transplant Clinical Assistant position prepares letters to referring physicians.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Previous experience in a medical office setting preferred

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Demonstrates ability to learn and perform with other pre and post transplant assistant roles
• Adapts to unexpected changes

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Utilizes courteous and professional interpersonal skills to establish and maintain rapport with patients, physicians/office personnel and various hospital personnel, while maintaining patient confidentiality.
• Communicates appointment reminder calls per protocol and follow-up calls for missed appointments per protocol to patients.
• Fosters teamwork approach in all interactions with peers and team members. Anticipates needs of other team members; proactively offers assistance. Provides contributions towards improvement of department scores for turnover/retention/employee satisfaction on unit-based scorecard, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Schedules procedures and consults across multiple departments according to protocol during each applicable phase of referral to transplant including order processing management (i.e indicating appropriate billing designation, obtain signatures, fax and scan orders). Prepares letters to referring physicians. Prepares itineraries for transplant protocol testing and appointments and sends to patient. Ensure itinerary is documented/scanned in electronic medical record.
• Responds to patient calls and messages within a timely manner. Diligently reviews and triages the appropriate electronic and traditional fax management. Documents all interactions with patients via electronic medical record (EMR).
• Responsible for clinic prep (including correcting appointment information if applicable) ensuring providers and referring MDs are recorded, appropriate flags are indicated, and gather/scan records and lab/diagnostic results into EMR. Independently follows up to ensure appointment/ testing has occurred; retrieve results for Coordinator to review. Obtains outside medical records and scans appropriately into departmental EMR via manual and medical records retrieval processes. Facilitates out-going medical records requests.
• Contributes to meeting department and organ program targets for patient satisfaction measures on department dashboard.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Creates, maintains and reconciles patient information in department EMR. Updates and maintains patient disposition in EMR throughout the transplant phases for accurate capture of patient progression.
• Assists with updating EMR with changes to include medical, surgical, family and social history and ensuring all diagnostic results are interfaced into report and/or entered manually into the EMR - as applicable to role assignment.
• Responsible for outside medical records, scan into chart/dispose of paper chart. Assist with consent management in EMR as applicable. Processes patient letters, and other applicable correspondence for mail out. Sends referring/outside physicians and applicable person(s) copies of records and information pertinent to care management.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Obtains, in advance, per protocol, pre-authorization/certification for diagnostic testing/procedures and seeks out causes for barriers when this is not possible. Ensures the timely sending of designated insurance records for financial clearance for patient evaluations and listing approvals when applicable and/or directed by Coordinator.
• Assist and completes Patient Assistance applications, as needed. Assists nurse coordinators with return to work, disability and other patient assistance forms.
• Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, minimizing incidental overtime. Utilizes resources and time efficiently and helps other team members.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in department donor awareness events, educational opportunities, and community activities. Stays informed with department activities and development by attending minimum of 75% of staff meetings.
• Identifies and assumes responsibility of own learning needs, consults with healthcare team experts and seeks continuing education opportunities to meet those needs. Completes and updates the individual development plan (IDP) on an on-going basis. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: No
• Other (department approved): Yes

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Previous experience in a medical office setting preferred