Description

Job Purpose

The Discharge Planning Assistant works closely with the Department to meet the discharge planning needs of our client hospitals’ patients. They collaborate with patients, nursing homes, and mental health and substance abuse facilities regarding target length of stays, payer requirements, and care options available to meet patients’ needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Fax medical records to nursing home facilities based on patients’ continued care needs
• Contact nursing homes to verify receipt of patients’ medical records and acceptance of patients into the facilities
• Maintain a written record of the number of facilities contacted and the outcome of the telephone calls
• Scan records into our internal database 
• Create accounts in our database and update accounts with detailed progress notes as needed
• Maintain an updated list of nursing homes’ contact information
• Produce Discharge Planning reports using Microsoft Excel and our proprietary database
• Effectively communicate with client hospitals to assist in implementing an appropriate discharge plan to meet patients’ needs
• Interact with health care providers to facilitate movement of the patient through the system
• Facilitate timely discharges/transfers, seeking early identification of the appropriate reimbursement source for nursing home placement or rehabilitative services
• Work effectively with hospital staff, patients, and families to reduce the incidence of avoidable days to lower the patients’ overall average length of stay
• On occasion, travel to deliver and/or retrieve documents from our client hospital locations and nursing homes
• Use, protect and disclose patients’ protected health information (PHI) only in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards.

Requirements

Qualifications

• College degree or work equivalency
• Clean Driver’s License 
• Exceptional communication skills, with an emphasis on telephone etiquette 
• Ability to work well in a team environment
• Excel in a fast-paced environment and meet on-going deadlines
• Exceptionally detail-oriented
• Able to work efficiently under pressure
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, and Excel) with the ability to learn internal databases (Prolaw).

Working Conditions

• Occasional travel to deliver/receive documents
• Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to move around the work area; Sit; perform manual tasks; operate tools and other office equipment such as computer, computer peripherals and telephones; extend arms; kneel; talk and hear.
• Mental Demands: The employee must be able to follow directions, collaborate with others, and handle stress.
• Work Environment: The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal.

Med-Metrix will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, veteran status, other non-merit based factors, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.