Patient Liaison

Houston Methodist; Baytown (TX); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital seeks a Patient Liaison to advocate for patients, interpret policies, and coordinate resolution of complaints from patients and families. The role supports liaison between hospital administration, physicians and staff to ensure a positive patient experience from admission through discharge.

The position emphasizes effective communication, crisis management, and documenting interactions while maintaining records and utilizing health care information systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Two years experience as a patient liaison or comparable health care/customer service/conflict resolution experience.
• Excellent communication skills with patients, families, and staff.

Responsibilities

• Meets and rounds on all new patients and directs them to appropriate resources.
• Communicates with department management regarding problems and trends in service.
• Interacts with patients, families and visitors to provide support and problem solving.
• Contributes to improvement of department scores for employee engagement.

Skills

Communication skills

Crisis management

Customer service

English language proficiency

Documentation

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Health care information systems

Job description

At Houston Methodist, the Patient Liaison position is responsible for acting as an advocate for patient issues effectively interpreting and communicating Houston Methodist's philosophy, policies, procedures and services to patients, their families and visitors and participates in the resolution of problems to maximize patient and family satisfaction This position receives grievances, complaints, and concerns from patients, their families and others; works with patients and families along with department management for resolution in accordance with HM grievance policy and regulatory guidelines. As Patient Liaison, this position liaises between Houston Methodist administration and patients, physicians, and other hospital personnel ensuring a satisfying hospital experience for patients from admission through discharge. As a patient advocate, the Patient Liaison position enables patients and their families to obtain solutions to problems by acting on their behalf.

FLSA STATUS

Exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree

EXPERIENCE

• Two years experience as a patient liaison or comparable health care/customer service/conflict resolution experience

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Preferred

• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA)

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

• Must have excellent communications skills and be able to relate to patients, families, and across all hospital staff and management

• Must be able to work with people of various age groups and cultural backgrounds

• Ability to accurately document information and maintain records

• Must have excellent problem resolution and crisis management skills

• Critical thinking, problem-solving, and mature judgment

• Ability to express ideas effectively both in speech and writing

• Intermediate level of computer competency – Microsoft Office Suite, and knowledge of health care information systems

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Meets and/or rounds on all new patients. Directs patients and/or families to appropriate resources when specific requests are made, i.e. Medical Power of Attorney, Directives, End of Life issues, etc

• Communicates directly with department management, their designee and/or administrative staff regarding specific problems and trends in service

• Interacts with patients, families and visitors, providing support and problem solving. As appropriate, consults with Sr Patient Liaisons/supervising leader when problems arise that require an additional level of experience

• Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Assigns priority to patient requests and problems and follows the process through to resolution, notifying all parties of status of solution

• Interviews patients who have stated a specific need for services. Provides information about services offered by the hospital. Interprets hospital policies and procedures as needed to ensure that the patient understands the types and levels of services provided

• Ensures adequate closure to patient issues through thorough and prompt follow-up facilitating the resolution of problems to the satisfaction of the patient and HM

• Intervenes in complaints or conflict with the interests of patients, families, physicians and other inter-professional health care team members to increase patient satisfaction scores and reporting their appreciation, comments, concerns, and/or problems

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Receives grievances, complaints, and concerns from patients, their families and others; works with patients and families along with department management for resolution. Responds to all grievances according to the HM grievance policy and appropriate regulatory guidelines. Partners with Risk/Quality as appropriate

• Utilizes pertinent findings from Patient Satisfaction Surveys, Customer Complaint Data and other sources to identify areas of focus and implement proactive interventions as the patient advocate

• Documents results of patient interview, obstacles to delivery of services, grievances, complaints and compliments in appropriate database. When appropriate, initiates a corrective action and sends to department management for investigation and resolution

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies cost savings or revenue opportunities within the department or Houston Methodist

• Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in department projects and process improvement initiatives. Generates and communicates ideas and suggestions that improve quality or service

• Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No

• Scrubs: No

• Business professional: Yes

• Other (department approved): No

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* Yes

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

• Bachelor’s degree

EXPERIENCE

• Two years experience as a patient liaison or comparable health care/customer service/conflict resolution experience

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Preferred

• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA)

Company Profile:

Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital brings the expertise and latest technology of Houston Methodist to Baytown and surrounding counties. The skilled and compassionate physicians, nurses and staff provide unsurpassed medical care in a close-to-home, state-of-the-art facility. Houston Methodist Baytown is committed to meeting the needs of its growing community through the ongoing facilities master plan expansion project, which includes a new, expanded emergency department, a five-story patient tower, outpatient center, renovated Cancer Center, neonatal intensive care unit and the addition of technologically advanced operating rooms.

Houston Methodist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.