Manager, Patient Relations

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Beth Israel Lahey Health seeks a dynamic Manager, Patient Relations to join the Healthcare Quality Department, promoting Just Culture and High Reliability. Reporting to the Director of Patient Safety, you will oversee Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management staff, and drive collaboration across clinical service lines.

You will redesign processes, lead change management, and ensure compliance with enterprise and regulatory standards while guiding teams toward best practices and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 8-10 years related work experience required, including 3-5 years supervisory/management in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, Quality Assurance, Risk Management, and/or Claims Investigation.
• Formal training in Just Culture and High Reliability Organization (HRO) methodology required.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft applications including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day patient relations and collaborative patient safety/risk management activities in a high volume fast paced working environment.
• Serve as role model helping staff coordinate timely investigation, review, response, and resolution of patient complaints/grievances within deadlines.
• Consult with and provide support to front line staff, providers, and leaders on how to respond to patient concerns verbally and in writing.
• Coach staff on the disclosure, apology, and documentation process.
• Help author and QA letters of resolution, expectation, and termination.
• Interprets the Patient's Bill of Rights, hospital policies and non-medical procedures to patients/families.
• Accurately track and perform quality assurance of feedback entered in the STARS Reporting System.
• Conducts regular case review meetings, audits of complaint/grievance files, providing status reports to staff and leadership.
• Escalates complex cases to Director and Medical Director, keeping them informed of outstanding or unresolved incidents.
• Proactively monitors and reports on trends in patient/family concerns/complaints to identify systematic, process, or barriers to the delivery of patient/family-centered care.
• Facilitates internal and external reporting of patient complaint and survey data as required by regulators, payers, and accrediting organizations.
• Communicates with malpractice insurers as appropriate.
• Participates in Threat Assessment Team, Behavior Management Team, Communication Apology and Resolution (CARe), and Peer Support Programs.
• Attends regulatory surveys and other meetings on site and virtually as required.
• Updates policies, PowerPoints, and training materials.
• Provides administrative support to leadership, committees, and process improvement project teams.
• Onboards and trains others in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management functions to assure smooth staffing transitions.
• Has the authority to direct and support employees' daily work activities.
• Has the direct responsibility to undertake the following employment actions: hiring, termination, corrective action and performance reviews.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Access

Job description

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you're making a difference in people's lives. BIDMC is seeking a dynamic Manager, Patient Relations, to join the Healthcare Quality Department promoting Just Culture and High Reliability. Reporting to the Director of Patient Safety, the Manager, Patient Relations is responsible for overseeing collaborative Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management staff functions. The solution-oriented operations lead immerses in daily activities of the team integrating with clinical service lines, optimizing workflow. They are proficient in process redesign and change management, assuring best practice achievement per enterprise and regulatory standards.

Job Description:

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage day-to-day patient relations and collaborative patient safety/risk management activities in a high volume fast paced working environment.
• Serve as role model helping staff coordinate timely investigation, review, response, and resolution of patient complaints/grievances within deadlines.
• Consult with and provide support to front line staff, providers, and leaders on how to respond to patient concerns verbally and in writing.
• Coach staff on the disclosure, apology, and documentation process.
• Help author and QA letters of resolution, expectation, and termination.
• Interprets the Patient's Bill of Rights, hospital policies and non-medical procedures to patients/families.
• Accurately track and perform quality assurance of feedback entered in the STARS Reporting System.
• Conducts regular case review meetings, audits of complaint/grievance files, providing status reports to staff and leadership.
• Escalates complex cases to Director and Medical Director, keeping them informed of outstanding or unresolved incidents.
• Proactively monitors and reports on trends in patient/family concerns/complaints to identify systematic, process, or barriers to the delivery of patient/family-centered care.
• Facilitates internal and external reporting of patient complaint and survey data as required by regulators, payers, and accrediting organizations.
• Communicates with malpractice insurers as appropriate.
• Participates in Threat Assessment Team, Behavior Management Team, Communication Apology and Resolution (CARe), and Peer Support Programs.
• Attends regulatory surveys and other meetings on site and virtually as required.
• Updates policies, PowerPoints, and training materials.
• Provides administrative support to leadership, committees, and process improvement project teams.
• Onboards and trains others in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, and Risk Management functions to assure smooth staffing transitions.
• Has the authority to direct and support employees' daily work activities.
• Has the direct responsibility to undertake the following employment actions: hiring, termination, corrective action and performance reviews.

Direct Reports: 4-6

Indirect Reports: None.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 8-10 years related work experience required, including 3-5 years supervisory/management experience in Patient Relations, Patient Safety, Quality Assurance, Risk Management, and/or Claims Investigation, including extensive experience collaborating with all healthcare role types and levels of seniority on mitigation of adverse events and process improvements.
• Formal training in Just Culture and High Reliability Organization (HRO) methodology required.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access and other web-based applications. May produce complex documents, perform analysis and maintain databases.

Competencies

• Decision Making: Ability to make decisions that are guided by precedents, policies and objectives. Regularly makes decisions and recommendations on issues affecting a department or functional area.
• Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are highly varied, complex and often non-recurring, requiring staff input, innovative, creative, and Lean diagnostic techniques to resolve issues.
• Independence of Action: Ability to set goals and priorities for functional area. May make recommendations for department policies, practices and programs. Manager or Director provides broad guidance and overall direction.
• Written Communications: Ability to communicate complex information in English effectively in writing to all levels of staff, management and external customers across functional areas.
• Oral Communications: Ability to verbally communicate complex concepts in English and address sensitive situations, resolve conflicts, negotiate, motivate and persuade others.
• Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of concepts, practices and policies with the ability to use them in complex varied situations.
• Teamwork: Ability to act as a team leader for small projects or work groups, creating a collaborative and respectful team environment and improving workflows. Results may impact the operations of one or more departments.
• Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service and staff training to meet customer service standards and expectations for the assigned unit(s). Resolves service issues in the assigned unit(s) in a timely and respectful manner.

Pay Range

Pay Range: $130,000.00 USD - $160,000.00 USD

The pay range listed for this position is the annual base salary range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) as a condition of employment.

More than 35,000 people working together. Nurses, doctors, technicians, therapists, researchers, teachers and more, making a difference in patients' lives. Your skill and compassion can make us even stronger. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled At Beth Israel Lahey Health, we are driving the change in health care that Massachusetts wants and needs. Our culture promotes continuous learning, growth, innovation and a sense of belonging. We make it a priority to offer comprehensive compensation and benefits and help you achieve a healthy and balanced life. While you're busy caring for and supporting our patients, we take care of you.