Lead Patient Navigator

University of Miami; United States; On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Miami Health System is seeking a Lead Patient Navigator to guide patients through the care continuum, coordinating with doctors, clinics, hospitals, and insurers to ensure timely, high-quality care. This role supports Patient Navigators and fosters partnerships with local physicians and referral sources, traveling as needed within campus facilities.

The position requires a Bachelor’s degree (preferred) and at least four years of healthcare experience, with strong communication,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 4 years of relevant work experience in healthcare.

Responsibilities

• Advise patients across the care continuum and facilitate access to services.
• Educate patients on health options and resources; communicate with providers.
• Maintain accurate, confidential medical records per policy.
• Mentor and train new and current Patient Navigators.
• Identify and resolve barriers to care and coordinate with nurse navigators and physicians.

Skills

Patient navigation

Healthcare coordination

Communication

Record keeping

Policy compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

EMR systems

Job description

UMHC - SCCC Site Disease has an exciting opportunity for a Lead Patient Navigator position. The incumbent provides support and guidance throughout the patient’s care continuum by helping patients “navigate” through the maze of doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, outpatient centers, insurance and payment systems, patient-support organizations, and other components of the healthcare system. The Lead Patient Navigator also acts as a resource for Patient Navigators 1 and Sr. Patient Navigators to ensure the timely delivery of high quality care and patient satisfaction.

CORE JOB FUNCTIONS

• Maintains a working knowledge of medical symptoms, signs, and anatomical systems to identify and differentiate type and urgency of medical need.
• Conducts patient evaluations to obtain information necessary for the development of an effective treatment plan.
• Provides patient reminders of upcoming appointments and acts as liaison between patients and providers.
• Identifies and resolves real or perceived barriers to care.
• Intervenes as liaison/advocate for patients, physicians, and staff in facilitating ease of care.
• Assists in identifying trouble spots and problem patterns in the provision of care.
• Educates and counsels patients on issues related to their health and life situations.
• Maintains current knowledge of community health, welfare resources, and any other programs available to patients.
• Assists in building partnerships with local community physicians and referral sources to the UHealth systems.
• Travels within the facility and campus to retrieve records, images, CDs, and pathology specimens.
• Explain HIPPA to patients and obtain consents.
• Maintains accurate clinical records per hospital policy while preserving confidentiality of patient information.
• Trains, develops, and empowers new team members and current staff to effectively do their jobs.
• Assists lower-level Patient Navigators as needed.
• Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets.
• This list of duties and responsibilities is not intended to be all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties or responsibilities as necessary.

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 4 years of relevant work experience.

DEPARTMENT ADDENDUM

Department Specific Functions: (SDG) Navigation Program

1. Telephone responsibilities include, but are not limited to speaking to the patient, and contacting a variety of health care facilities to obtain patient medical record information.
2. Address barriers and gaps in care with the nurse navigator.
3. Follow-up on interventions from the nurse navigator to remove barriers (i.e. referrals-internal/external).
4. Provides related internal, local, or national resources to the patient, family, or caregiver.
5. Explains consent for obtaining outside records, and HIPAA (if applicable) to patient; obtains signatures (may be done via email)
6. Submits signed consent to health care centers as appropriate to initiate retrieval of medical records, pathology slides, x-rays and any other pertinent report.
7. Tracks pending records to ensure delivery prior to clinic visit such as pathology reports etc.
8. Communicates to the appropriate SDG Nurse Navigator, if difficult or unable to obtain a pertinent record
9. Travels within the facility and campus to retrieve records/films/CD/s as needed.
10. Prepares pathology slides and submits for consultation.
11. Returns pathology slide to appropriate institution or patient.
12. Assembles, completes, and processes patients’ charts as indicated.
13. Maintains confidentiality of patient information.
14. Maintains an accurate clinical record, recording information per hospital policy.
15. Reports unusual incidents in a timely manner to appropriate supervisory personnel.
16. Assist nursing staff in collaboration of multidisciplinary meetings, including tumor conference coordination. (TB Coordinator)
17. Assists with other clerical duties, not limited to faxing, scanning, copying.
18. Assists navigation leadership team conducting monthly documentation audits as needed.
19. Uses tracking system and databases to accurately document placement of all medical records.
20. Copies, faxes, emails, and mails medical records while ensuring patient confidentiality.
21. Answers telephones and responds to questions, concerns, and directs calls or obtains messages.
22. Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets.
23. Trains, develops, and empowers new team members and current staff to effectively do their jobs.

Department Specific Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Certification and Licensing

• Certification in translation of secondary language if applicable.
• George Washington Patient Navigator Certification Required.

Experience

Minimum of 4 years relevant work experience required in a healthcare setting.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and primary responsibilities of this job classification. Specific duties and tasks may vary based upon departmental needs. Other duties may be assigned to the above consistent with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the job. This a job profile description and not all duties may be assigned to a specific position in each individual department.

The University of Miami offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, tuition remission and more.

UHealth-University of Miami Health System, South Florida's only university-based health system, provides leading-edge patient care powered by the ground breaking research and medical education at the Miller School of Medicine. As an academic medical center, we are proud to serve South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our physicians represent more than 100 specialties and sub-specialties, and have more than one million patient encounters each year. Our tradition of excellence has earned worldwide recognition for outstanding teaching, research and patient care. We're the challenge you've been looking for.

Job Status: Full time Employee Type: Staff

The mission of the University of Miami is to transform lives through education, research, innovation, and service. A vibrant and diverse academic and healthcare community, the University of Miami and the University of Miami Health System (“UHealth”) have rapidly progressed to become one of the nation’s top research universities and academic medical centers in the nation. The University comprises 12 schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 350 majors and programs. Visit welcome.miami.edu/about-um to learn more about our points of pride. The University ranks No. 55 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges list and ranked No. 49 in the 2022 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is ranked the #1 eye hospital in the USA and offers some of the nation's premiere eye doctors to treat every eye condition for adults. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer, part of the Miller School of Medicine, received the prestigious National Cancer Institute designation in 2019. The University of Miami and UHealth have also ranked among the Forbes Best Employers and Best Employers for Women on several occasions, most recently in 2022.

With more than 17,000 faculty and staff, the University strives for excellence, and is driven by a powerful mission to transform and impact the lives of its students, patients, members of the community, and people across the globe.

The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law.

Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law.