PATIENT PLACEMENT COORDINATOR - DAY SHIFT

Scope of Position

Under the general direction of the Senior Manager of Admitting Services, the incumbent will assist in managing hospital capacity operations within the MGH Capacity Coordination Center.

They will act as a liaison between attending and resident physicians, nursing staff, and administrative staff to ensure timely and clinically appropriate placement of patients following hospital guidelines.

The goal is to provide the highest quality of care and service to our patients, their families, our physician and nursing colleagues, and to outside institutions by utilizing our resources effectively and efficiently.

Responsibilities are inclusive, but not limited to the following :

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

Identifies and assigns beds for front door admissions, post-operative surgical admissions, hospital transfers, and emergency department admissions.

Regularly interacts with clinical staff to ensure appropriate placement of patients in accordance with clinical needs, capacity needs, and Patient Placement Guidelines.

Monitors all aspects of a real-time hospital census; works with patient care units to ensure correct admission, discharge, and transfer information is reflected in Epic.

May work with patient care units to expedite the admission and / or discharge process during times of high occupancy.

• Participates in daily meetings with representatives of patient care units to assess occupancy / capacity needs and promote knowledge sharing of special considerations in order to ensure efficient and appropriate placement of patients.
• Works with Access RNs to assist in monitoring medical team assignments to ensure safe and appropriate distribution of patients.

Frequent communication with the Medical Officer of the Day (MOD) and Capacity MD to strategize exceptions and capacity challenges.

• Works with the Patient Care Services to arrange timely transfer of patients to and from intensive care units.
• Responds to requests from patients or family members for special bed needs, given clinical placement criteria are met. Confirm patient needs / requests are properly coded in Epic to ensure appropriate billing.
• Responds to Pre-Code Help, Code Help, and Capacity Disaster situations and provides leadership with detailed information around current capacity and bed availability.
• Carries out direction from department leadership and Capacity Committee to prioritize / re-prioritize patients, as needed.
• Performs daily ADT maintenance to ensure patient accounts accurately reflect all activity.
• Ensures integrity of each patient account, including but not limited to : demographics, insurance, guarantor, advanced directive status, etc.

May work with patient, family members, referring institution and / or other agencies to obtain accurate registration and authorization information.

• Facilitates outside hospital transfers via the MD Connect phone line by connecting the referring physician with the appropriate MGH physician via conference call to discuss patient's clinical needs.
• Provides rapid, professional response to referring and accepting physicians.
• Communicates pertinent information to internal and referring patient care units in order to expedite transfer / transport of patient to MGH.
• Monitors processes pertaining to patient transfer and / or transport. Offers patient support services to referring institutions and coordinates such services, as indicated.
• Collaborates with colleagues across the institution, including the Emergency Department, Client Services, and hospital leadership, to prioritize highly sensitive transfers from outside hospitals during times of high occupancy.
• May facilitate admission to alternative Mass General Brigham Institution as necessary or requested given bed availability, insurance contractual agreements, physician and / or patient preference.
• Troubleshoots and provides assistance throughout the process, as necessary.
• Responsible for creation of death certificates for patients who expire at MGH.
• Receives expired patient calls and logs information into expired patient log.
• Ensures Attending Physician has reported medical legal cases to the Medical Examiner.
• Notifies organ procurement agency of all expired patients, per Massachusetts Law.
• Demonstrates proficiency in case specific requirements.
• Reviews Report of Death form and ensures all required information is accurately reported. Enters Death Certificate information electronically for filing with the Bureau of Vital Statistics and ensures proper certification from physician certifier.
• Resource person / customer service representative for internal and external customers; may include hospital leadership, Patient Care Services, Communications, physicians, nurses, physician offices / clinics, patients, and family members.
• During off hours, acts as a backup for Admissions Coordinators to expedite patient admission process. May assist in providing coverage for scheduling center and front desk, as needed.
• Assists in ongoing management of patient valuables process and inventory.
• Serves as mentor for new employees and assists in hands-on training and support.
• Participates in productivity and quality / process improvement intra and extra-departmental projects as appropriate and assigned by Manager.
• Serves as an ambassador of the Mass General Brigham Healthcare system.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelors Degree preferred.
• Prior healthcare experience.
• Medical terminology.
• Basic computer skills.
• Exceptional Customer Service skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to exercise judgment in dealing with sensitive, confidential information.
• Ability to handle stressful situations that may arise in facilitating requests.
• Willingness to learn and grow as a member of the team and department.
8 days ago