Operations Manager - Primary Care

Operations Manager - Primary Care

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is more than a hospital. It´s a network of support and care that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in need each year. It is the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. Emphasizing community-based care, BMC is committed to providing consistently excellent and accessible health services to all—and is the largest safety-net hospital in New England. The hospital is also the primary teaching affiliate of the nationally ranked Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and a founding partner of Boston HealthNet – an integrated health care delivery systems that includes many community health centers. Join BMC today and help us achieve our Vision 2030 which is a long-term goal to make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world.

Position: Operations Manager

Department: Primary Care Clinic

Schedule: Full Time

POSITION SUMMARY:

Provides administrative oversight, business management, and program development for one or more ambulatory services.  Ensures optimal patient access, customer satisfaction, and cost-effective management of the practice.  Works in collaboration with the Medical Director(s) and the Nurse Manager in a matrix management team.  Supervises all administrative and non-clinical support staff.  Monitors compliance with managed care plans. Establishes work procedures and standards to improve efficiency and effectiveness in all practices.  Identifies opportunities to increase patient volume and services while continuing to control expenses in the corporation.  Conducts ongoing leadership training of staff and creates an environment, which fosters and responds to customer satisfaction.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

• Works with the practices and the management team to develop and implement long and short range business plans for practices. Meets regularly with the appropriate clinical leaders in each practice.  
• Analyzes information, develops strategies to improve operations and enhance service delivery;   implements changes in conjunction with and advise from the management team.   Acts as the liaison with other hospital departments to resolve problems that interfere with the efficient operation of the practices.  
• Develops practice performance standards in conjunction with the management team.  Monitors practice performance regularly against those standards and prepares and implements steps to bring the practice into conformance with those standards.  Develops management reports to measure provider productivity, assesses patient demand for services, determines patient satisfaction and otherwise evaluates the effectiveness of the practices’ operations.    Develops and implements cost-effective operational adjustments as appropriate to enhance practice efficiency.
• Controls purchase and distribution of supplies in the practices.  Establishes and maintains inventory system of supplies.  Works with providers and vendors to procure cost-effective purchases and provide inventory control.
• Attends management meetings, and participates in other hospital committees as required.  Complies with BMC managerial expectations, such as regular attendance at managers’ meetings, safety training, annual diversity training, etc.  
• Calls, prepares agenda for, and participates in monthly meetings with all practice personnel, in consultation with the management team.  Prepares follow-up work plans to items discussed at the practice meetings, and monitors completion of identified projects and tasks.     Communicates BMC and/or practice priorities and essential information to staff on a regular basis.  
• Maximizes the use of physical space by coordinating the use and assignment of practices’ office and examination space.
• Creates and maintains the Policy and Procedure Manuals.

Customer Service

• Ensures that practices provide service/care that meets or exceeds patient care standards.
• Seeks patient feedback on service delivery for both providers and staff, taking immediate steps to respond to any complaints or indications of insufficient levels of service.
• Ensures that all staff recognizes that customers are both internal (employees, physicians, other departments) and external (patients, families, insurers) and demonstrates skills appropriate to good service (reliability, empathy, courtesy, etc.).  Ensures that staff responds promptly and appropriately to customer needs. Ensure that staff effectively communicates with customers to address needs and problems.
• Ensures that staff maintains confidentiality for all patient interactions.

Patient Access

• Develops, monitors, and revises the practices’ schedules to ensure efficient patient flow and access.    Works closely with the appropriate Medical Director and/or physicians to adjust provider schedules to account for planned absences.
• Reviews monthly statistical reports with information regarding numbers of patients scheduled for each practice, number of appointment no-shows, number of sessions cancelled by providers, etc.  Prepares special and periodic reports for the management team.    Develops and implements strategies to improve patient access, in collaboration with practices’ and hospital leadership.

Fiscal Management

• Provides close oversight and supervision of the registration process within the department.  Ensures that all staff is adequately trained, and serves as the practices’ expert with regard to registration and billing functions.   Monitors staff adherence to practices’ policies and procedures.   Supervises the insurance eligibility verification process.  Establishes controls to oversee the accuracy and completeness of information entered into the patient information systems by clerical staff.  Performs frequent quality audits; runs registration quality and duplicate registration reports a minimum of once per week, and resolves errors immediately.   
• Ensures that all requirements for billing third party payers are met.    Monitors production reports on a weekly basis to ensure charges are submitted in accordance with organizational standards. Ensures compliance with corporate billing protocols. Develops and maintains a good working relationship with billing vendor. Prepares monthly reports on accounts receivable for review and analysis.  Works closely with billing vendor to evaluate areas of needed improvement.  Makes recommendations for improvements and upon approval, implements and monitors account receivable status.
• Supervises the charge entry operation, and ensures that all charges are entered within twenty-four business hours of the service date.    Monitors billing edit report on a daily basis, and is accountable for the immediate correction of errors.  Establishes a charge reconciliation process to ensure 100% revenue capture; runs missing E & M and other financial reports on a regular basis.   Monitors coding requirements and submissions to maximize revenue and comply with regulations. Annually reviews fee schedule to ensure appropriateness of charge level. Keeps up to date on laws, regulations and healthcare trends that affect the practices’ business systems and operations.
• Develops the annual operating budget in collaboration with clinical leaders, and monitors expenditures regularly to ensure the practice’s compliance with budget.   Provides financial analysis and benchmarking reports.   Identifies opportunities for financial improvements.
• Develops the capital budget request for the practices with input from the management team and providers.    Works with vendors to develop accurate specifications and cost for needed capital equipment and furnishings.
• Demonstrates cost consciousness by comparing and analyzing practice sites expenditures monthly and effectively utilizing staff, space, and supplies within budgetary constraints.

Human Resource Management

• Hires, disciplines, and fires clerical support staff, within the prescribed policies of the hospital.  Interprets and enforces hospital and practice policies for all employees; ensures conformance to Boston Medical Center labor agreements and grievance process.  Represents the department at labor/management hearings; assists in preparation of materials for hearings and arbitration cases, as needed.  Works collaboratively with Medical Director and/or physicians to ensure consistency and commitment to practices’ goals and policies.
• Establishes standards for an excellent customer service environment in which all patients and staff are treated with dignity and respect.   Trains and evaluates staff in customer service techniques.      
• Assesses the adequacy of staffing levels for non-clinical staff and makes recommendations to management regarding additional staffing needs or role changes.   Assigns and monitors staff workload to ensure maximum productivity; creates an atmosphere and conditions that motivate employees to work at optimal efficiency.
• Monitors employee needs for training. Develops annual training and development plans and makes appropriate arrangements for training in conjunction with each employee.  Communicates practices’ goals to employees and fosters a work environment that motivates employees to achieve these goals.
• Completes employee performance reviews within a timely manner, and in accordance with BMC policy.     Provides ongoing assessment and feedback to all employees; develops performance improvement plans where appropriate.   
• Evaluates and approves schedule changes and requests for time off, ensuring that the staffing needs of the departments are met.  Works to resolve any wage, benefit or human resources related problems.    Oversees payroll, and maintains system to document employee absenteeism.

Facility Management and Regulatory Compliance

• Coordinates housekeeping, maintenance and repairs for the practices, ensuring that all areas, equipment, and furnishings are kept clean and in good repair.    

Program Planning and Development

• Develops plans for practice expansion and growth, including the identification of financial resources to fund expansions.  Submits plans to management.  
• Implements approved plans.   Works with architects and contractors to develop plans which will maximize provider productivity and enhance patient and staff satisfaction.    Coordinates all aspects of construction and moves with appropriate hospital departments.  

Quality Improvement

• Participates in practices’ and hospital-wide quality assurance activities.  Leads practices, efforts in continuous quality improvement by involvement in teams as appropriate and by supporting changes recommended through the continuous improvement process.  Participates in establishing and implementing quality assurance standards.
• Ensures compliance with standards and regulations from federal, state and local governments, as well as other regulatory bodies such as The Joint Commission.   Ensures that all staff attends mandatory BMC training sessions, receive annual TB testing, etc.  
• Resolves patient complaints emanating from areas of responsibility.  Ensures that all significant patient complaints are reported promptly to the Patient Advocate or Director of Quality Improvement.

Other:

• Works with appropriate personnel within the practices and the hospital to develop and implement marketing strategies for the practices. Assures representation of assigned practices at community events to ensure the practice’s presence in the community. Stays abreast of health care topics that may interest the community. Coordinates physician attendance at lectures and/or health fairs in the community
• Utilizes hospital's behavioral standards as the basis for decision making and to facilitate the department and the hospital’s mission.
• Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures.
• Performs other duties as needed.

EDUCATION:

• Work requires a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts or Science or equivalent work experience. 
• Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related fields strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

Requires a minimum of 5-7 years experience in a healthcare business environment with at least 3 years management experience.  Must have a history of Management experience with progressive advancement in supervisory responsibility including an emphasis in practice office operations and processes, human resource functions, experience working with financial reports and budgets, and managing customers (patients and physicians).

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Ability to work collaboratively in a medical matrix team, and the ability to adequately represent needs of medical services, and work with multiple physicians of numerous specialties.
• Comprehensive knowledge of clinical operations, hospital financial and human resources policies and procedures.
• Excellent understanding of hospital and physician reimbursement as well as applicable external regulations and legal requirements.
• Outstanding interpersonal relationship building skills; ability to mentor, guide and motivate direct reports through demonstration of best practices and leading by example.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously and produce expected results.
• Highly developed skills using personal computer tools including computerized healthcare information system, word processing, spreadsheets and presentation applications.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans