Patient Coordinator

Overview

As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

The Patient Coordinator is responsible for full life-cycle coordination of care and serves as a liaison between the patient and healthcare system. This position helps manage patient needs and coordinates services across multiple care teams and facilities. This position answers all patient questions and collaborates with members of an interdisciplinary team to coordinate care and facilitate resource and discharge planning to reach optimal outcomes for the patient.

Corporate Overview: University of Utah Health is an integrated academic healthcare system with five hospitals including a level 1 trauma center, eleven community health centers, over 1,600 providers, and a health plan serving over 200,000 members. University of Utah Health is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. In addition to our clinical delivery system, we have a School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and College of Health providing education and training for over 1,250 providers annually. We have over 2 million patient visits annually and research grants exceeding $350 million. University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics represents our clinical operations for the larger health system.

Responsibilities

• Schedules patient appointments, tests and procedures and ensures the coordination of patient care plans across interdisciplinary teams.
• Receives, responds to, and directs patient communications, including phone calls, emails, and other interactions.
• Assesses escalated patient questions and ensures the coordination of care plans.
• Identifies patient needs, answers questions and educates new patients on the process so they can make informed decisions.
• Triage referrals from physicians, both internal and external, in addition to self-referred patients.
• Gathers needed medical information such as records, slides, films, and ancillary tests to assist in the coordination of patient needs.
• Ensures insurance coverage, resolves any issues with coverage, and escalates complicated issues to appropriate financial counselor.
• Acts as a liaison with other care groups such as social work, financial counseling, and nutrition to facilitate the patient intake process.
• Provides detailed patient instructions and education in collaboration with providers and other clinical staff.
• Works with discharge planner to facilitate and align patient needs with resources and/or equipment to meet quality and clinical outcomes.
• Assists in the coordination of seminars and community outreach activities.
• Monitors program performance and coordinates any programmatic development within the team.
• Coordinates treatment planning conferences, logistics, presentations, and associated CME requirements.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Demonstrated excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational, and follow-through skills.

• Ability to be motivated with attention to detail and the ability to work efficiently and independently, demonstrating a passion for providing excellent customer service.

• Ability to learn new applications and software, procedures and processes.

• Ability to assimilate data from various sources.

• Ability to display active listening and verbalize empathy while developing relationships with patients, guests and coworkers.

• Able to prioritize and multi-task in a fast paced environment.

• Demonstrated knowledge of HIPAA regulations to ensure that patient information is guarded and respected.

Qualifications

Qualifications
Required

• Associate's degree in a Health Care, Business, Communications, related field, or the equivalency.
• Two years of applicable experience.

Qualifications (Preferred)

Preferred

• Competency in electronic patient charting and scheduling.
• Some departments may prefer experience in a high volume clinical setting or multidisciplinary clinics or working with high-acuity, complex patients.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This is a sedentary position that may exert up to 10 pounds and may lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. This position involves sitting most of the time and is not exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

Physical Requirements

Carrying, Climbing, Color Determination, Crawling, Far Vision, Lifting, Listening, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Non Indicated, Pulling and/or Pushing, Reaching, Sitting, Speaking, Standing, Stooping and Crouching, Tasting or Smelling, Walking