Covenant Health

Manager of Centralized Scheduling

Full Time, 80 Hours Per Pay Period, Day Shifts

Covenant Health Overview:

Covenant Health is the region’s top-performing healthcare network with 10 hospitals, outpatient and specialty services, and Covenant Medical Group, our area’s fastest-growing physician practice division. Headquartered in Knoxville, Covenant Health is a community-owned integrated healthcare delivery system and the area’s largest employer. Our more than 11,000 employees, volunteers, and 1,500 affiliated physicians are dedicated to improving the quality of life for the more than two million patients and families we serve every year. Covenant Health is the only healthcare system in East Tennessee to be named a Forbes “Best Employer” seven times.

Position Summary:

Provides operational leadership for the Centralized Scheduling Department.   Possesses a Managerial understanding of all aspects of the Insurance Verification, Pre-Certification, Scheduling, and Pre-Registration processes, as well as duties of the Patient Access Specialist, Pre-Cert Specialist, and Patient Access Supervisor. Provides leadership to all personnel within the department to ensure that all duties are performed accurately and efficiently.  The Manager monitors all functions of the Centralized Scheduling Department and maintains processes, policies and procedures, and equipment to ensure promptness and efficiency of all Verification, Scheduling, Pre-Registration, and Pre-Authorization functions.  Supervises staff through the following direct reports: Patient Access Specialist, Pre-Cert Specialist, and Patient Access Supervisors.  Recruits, selects, develops and motivates a competent staff to ensure productivity and positive morale.  Develops and monitors departmental budget.

Integrity

• Demonstrates the ability to proficiently monitor the functions of staff within the department, ensuring that staff display professionalism, courtesy, and an understanding of patient concerns, while making sure that delays and errors in the scheduling process are kept to a minimum.
• Holds staff accountable for performing all assigned duties in a professional manner.
• Maintains dialogue with facility executives on process improvement opportunities.
• Recommends to organizational leadership new policies and procedures, and updates to existing ones that are intended to increase efficiency and promote data integrity.
• Evaluates and implements appropriate modifications to existing policies and procedures that support Covenant Health’s values and are intended to increase efficiency and promote data integrity.
• Ensures continuing compliance with the Joint Commission, State and Federal regulations, HIPAA, and CMS guidelines as they relate to department activity.
• Supports and assists with financial counseling assistance for self-pay patients, worker’s compensation patients, patients being scheduled for non-covered procedures, or patients who are unable to pay the estimated patient responsibility.
• Utilizes organizational resources appropriately, i.e. hospital equipment, supplies.
• Does not promote or participate in solicitation during working hours within the department.

Quality

• Demonstrates skills necessary to support staff in the performance of their job duties.
• Provides guidance and leadership to the Centralized Scheduling department, including hiring, training, employee counseling, employee evaluation, establishment of work priorities and, other daily operational duties.
• Coordinates verification, pre-certification, scheduling, and pre-registration of Outpatient Diagnostic service areas as defined under the existing Centralized Scheduling purview.
• Ensures that cross training is incorporated into the training process so that employees are capable of working within each area.
• Manages staff issues, schedule changes, and daily operational questions.
• Accurately maintains and processes employee payroll and attendance records as assigned.
• Effectively identifies and provides issue resolution related to processes within the Centralized Scheduling area.
• Professionally and proficiently manages patients, physicians, public, and other management personnel concerning Scheduling, Pre-Cert, Verification, and Pre-Registration matters.
• Continually monitors the quality of the department’s work; incorporating into daily use, reporting that will identify problems related to departmental functions.
• Involves and monitors staff participation in departmental goals.
• Monitors the creation, maintenance, and distribution of all required documents and statistical reports related to patient information.
• Verifies compliance with hospital policies and procedures relative to departmental functions.
• Demonstrates ability to keep up with regulatory and insurance requirements, ensuring that changes are communicated to staff and incorporated into daily job functions.
• Analyzes pre-certification denials and requests for additional information to determine need for changes to operational procedures.
• Maintains equipment and supplies, and monitors budget for the department.
• Performs other duties as assigned to the satisfaction of the organizational leadership.

Serving the Customer

• Recognizes and intercedes in situations that require managerial involvement.
• Collaborates with other department leaders to improve patient access to hospital services.
• Provides the motivation and incentives necessary to meet or exceed productivity goals within the Centralized Scheduling Department.
• Develops and communicates goals and objectives for staff within the department that take into consideration the mission and values of Covenant Health.

Caring For and Developing Our People

• Facilitates monthly meetings with staff and coordinates discussion regarding work performance and departmental/organizational updates.
• Maintains lines of communication with other department managers in an ongoing effort to improve the overall quality of customer service.
• Promotes positive public relations for the department and the organization.
• Independently monitors reports and staff performance to ensure accuracy of information and patient satisfaction.
• Provides feedback to staff regarding opportunities for improving work performance.
• Provides a strong customer service orientation to all staff within the Centralized Scheduling department.
• Ensures that ongoing training and review of quality/service accountabilities are incorporated into the scheduling process.

Using the Community’s Resources Wisely

• Demonstrates promptness in reporting for and completing work ensuring follow-through on assigned tasks.
• Demonstrates initiative in increasing skills, and attends training programs as available.
• Provides assistance and support for new employees.
• Demonstrates the ability to handle varying tasks; understands and interprets procedures relative to the scheduling and registration process.
• Follows protocols as established by the department.

Minimum Education:           

Strong hospital financial background with emphasis on all aspects of the insurance verification, pre-certification, scheduling and pre-registration processes, as well as duties of Patient Access Specialist, Pre-Cert Specialist and Patient Access Supervisor.  Experience in Scheduling, Business Office process, or Health Information Management preferred.  Bachelor’s Degree preferred, high school with experience equivalent to Degree may be considered.

Minimum Experience:         

Eight (8) years of increasing responsibility or related work experience in a healthcare environment required which includes a minimum of five (5) years of direct experience in hospital scheduling/registration office or equivalent.  Experience with Medicare, Medicaid and third party payers, rules and regulations.  Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with both corporate and clinical departments. Basic Microsoft Office software skills.

Licensure Requirement:      

American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), Registered Nurse (RN), or any other licensed clinician who can take orders required, or National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) certification completed and maintained within one (1) year.