Access Center Physician

University of Maryland Medical System; Linthicum (MD); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Maryland Medical System seeks an Access Center Physician to oversee day-to-day patient movement and system flow across the MAC team. You will coordinate with CCTCs, NCs/NSs, and transport teams to optimize operations and patient transfers, while providing telehealth services as part of the access strategy.

The role requires a medical degree, residency, and board eligibility or certification, with a minimum of 3 years of acute-care clinical experience; EPIC EMR experience is

Qualifications

• Medical degree and completion of medical residency are required.
• Board certification or board eligibility is required or eligible.
• Minimum of 3 years of full-time clinical experience in an acute-care specialty.
• Experience with coordinating multi-disciplinary teams is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day patient movement and system flow across UMMS as part of MAC.
• Coordinate with CCTCs, NCs/NSs, and on-duty MAC staff to optimize operations.
• Provide clinical input and oversight to operations and system-level objectives.
• Arrange safe transport for transferring patients and provide telehealth services.
• Monitor system status and report issues to MAC administration.
• File post-shift or periodic reports to update stakeholders.

Skills

Clinical expertise

Oral communication

Written communication

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Organization skills

Education

MD/DO

Residency

Board certification/eligibility

Tools

EPIC EMR

Job description

I. General Summary
The Access Center Physician (ACP) is charged with overseeing day-to-day patient movement and system flow across UMMS as a member of the Maryland Access Center (MAC) team. In coordination with the Critical Care Transfer Coordinators (CCTCs), Nursing Coordinators (NCs), Nursing Supervisors (NSs), and other on-duty staff of the MAC, the ACP is to provide clinical input and oversight to these operations. The ACP will monitor system status and receive input from UMMS administration regarding system-level objectives, and will work with MAC staff, sending/receiving facilities, and transport teams to optimize patient flow across the system and achieve these system objectives. The ACP will also play a key role in the arrangement of safe transport for patients being transferred, and will provide telehealth services, as outlined in further detail below.

Job Requirements
I. General Summary
The Access Center Physician (ACP) is charged with overseeing day-to-day patient movement and system flow across UMMS as a member of the Maryland Access Center (MAC) team. In coordination with the Critical Care Transfer Coordinators (CCTCs), Nursing Coordinators (NCs), Nursing Supervisors (NSs), and other on-duty staff of the MAC, the ACP is to provide clinical input and oversight to these operations. The ACP will monitor system status and receive input from UMMS administration regarding system-level objectives, and will work with MAC staff, sending/receiving facilities, and transport teams to optimize patient flow across the system and achieve these system objectives. The ACP will also play a key role in the arrangement of safe transport for patients being transferred, and will provide telehealth services, as outlined in further detail below.Responsibilities
II. Principal Responsibilities and Tasks
Work independently to manage complex projects involving coordination of multiple participants and teams in order to achieve strategic UMMS goals relating to patient movement. Coordinate and/or lead the on-duty staff of the MAC to ensure efficient and effective operations under limited supervision. Foster teamwork with all involved parties to ensure efficient project operations. Support and monitor ongoing quality improvement programs. Demonstrate ability to meet deadlines.The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. These are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by personnel so classified. The below describes the general roles of the ACP, and it should be noted that the nature or scope of these roles may change over time, and new roles may be added, as the optimal utilization of the ACP evolves.

• “Acting Charge” for the Access Center
• Identify and fix acute issues with operations
• Work closely with and provide clinical support to the CCTCs and NCs/NSs
• Report issues to MAC administration and/or supervisor
• Work with stakeholders to identify and resolve barriers to efficient operation – and continue this work where needed by electronic communications after a given shift is over
• Regularly file post-shift reports to update MAC administration, other ACPs, and other stakeholders as to current state of operations
• “Physician Administrator Oncall (PAO) Extender” and "Bed Czar"
• Answer questions with current policies and procedures and adjudicate administrative issues, e.g. which units/services can take which patients, isolation policies/practices, etc.
• Adjudicate disposition disputes and administrative issues with support from the UMMC PAO or hospital CMOs as needed.
• Provide clinical support and input to NCs/NSs when needed to facilitate connecting patients with units and services which can provide appropriate care
• “System Flow Director”
• Monitor UMMS-wide status and resource needs
• Be aware of capabilities of various units/hospitals to inform choices about patient movement
• Work with NCs, CCTCs, and sending/receiving units to achieve resource smoothing and realization of UMMS-wide priorities/goals.
• For example:

Redirect transfers that can be performed by telehealth to telehealth resources,
Avoid unnecessary or non-beneficial transfers,
Divert patients from busier hospitals to less busy hospitals when able/appropriate,
Coordinate understanding of repatriation status prior to transfer,
Participate regularly in meetings regarding decanting or repatriation and facilitate these system-oriented patient movements
Encourage movement of patients towards hospitals looking to increase certain service lines or otherwise facilitate patient movement to achieve strategic UMMS objectives
Keep up to date with emails and other communications regarding UMMS-wide strategic goals that pertain to patient movement

• “Telehealth Resource”
• Supplement to telehealth to enable consultation and other services from access center
• “Transport Clinician”
• Partner with CCTCs and transport staff to support clinical side of transport operations, e:

Coordinating with transport crews to ensure they receive necessary clinical information
Determining appropriate level of care for transport
Addressing pre-transport clinical considerations
Prioritizing order and timing of transports, etc.

• Provide updates to supervisors, hospital executives, and other stakeholders as requested
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  

Work Experience

• Medical degree, completion of medical residency, and board certification or board eligibility are all required
• Minimum of 3 years of full-time clinical experience in an acute-care medical specialty (residency or fellowship training can be counted towards this requirement)
• Previous knowledge and experience in developing and leading strategic initiatives/project management is highly desirable.
• Excellent oral, written, interpersonal, analytical, organization skills are required.
• EPIC EMR knowledge and experience is preferred.