Business Operations Assistant

Job Summary: 

The Business Operations Assistant supports hospice clinical teams through efficient management of administrative, regulatory, and documentation processes. This position ensures the seamless operation of clinical workflows by accurately documenting communications, managing critical data within the electronic health record (EHR), and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to maintain compliance with hospice regulatory standards. The assistant serves as a vital link between patients, families, providers, and interdisciplinary teams, handling sensitive information with professionalism and discretion.

Essential Functions:

1. Interacts with patients/families/caregivers and employees in a courteous and professional manner.*
2. Accurately documents all telephone calls in computer-based system in a timely manner. *
3. Exercises a high level of critical thinking/decision making to maximize the use of organizational resources, providing assistance, as needed, to support clinical team members, often completing work that may be time-sensitive or challenging due to patient care needs. *
4. Independently manages assigned workflows within the EHR and communication platforms to ensure timely task resolution and compliance with documentation standards. *
5. Monitors necessary reports to meet regulatory standards by auditing reports from the EHR: Admission HIS Audit, Discharge HIS Report, Admission CTI Report, Recert CTI/F2F Report, Provider Order Tracking Report, Level of Care Order Report.  Collaborates with manager and clinical team members as needed.*
6. Follows up with external physicians to obtain following preference and verbal certification for admission to meet federal regulations. Communications with patients/patients’ representatives when applicable.
7. Collaborates and communicates with providers, internal scheduling department, and clinical managers to ensure face-to-face encounters are completed in accordance with regulatory and compliance standards.
8. Inventories medical supply stock in assigned dispensing areas, monitoring expiration dates and replenishing supplies, as needed, for clinical team members, allowing the site to be survey ready. *
9. Maintains and updates forms, brochures, and office supplies, and replenishes, as needed, for clinical team members. *
10. Ensures separated employees’ equipment is secured and returned to Information Technology (IT)*
11. Prepares death certificates in electronic death registry system for completion by the hospice physician and processing by funeral homes, ensuring timeliness, accuracy and compliance with state and local reporting requirements. Follows up when and if corrections are required at a local or state level.*
12. Performs new hire/annual N-95 Mask Fit Testing for clinical team members.*
13. Reviews, organizes and audits admission, recertification, and discharge documentation within the EHR to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance in accordance with hospice regulatory standards. *
14. Serves as a preceptor for onboarding new Business Operations staff, guiding documentation practices, regulatory awareness, and systems use.
15. Supports assigned Clinical Manager(s) with orientation for new hires to the clinical team.
16. Oversees all requests for private health information, including requests for copies of medical record entries. Follows up with requestors to identify specific information sought, purpose, and to determine if patient authorization is required, collaborating with Quality/Compliance, as needed, to ensure HIPAA guidelines are followed.  Completes billing for invoicing and release of health information.
17. Manages shipping for returned pain pumps to vendors.
18. Ensures all orders, including certifications, are processed for signature to meet regulatory requirements. Responsible for follow up with external provider offices for outstanding orders that have not been signed and returned for the EHR chart.
19. Provides required documentation to contracted facilities and external providers to meet regulatory requirements.
20. Manages inventory and deployment of telehealth devices to clinical team members.
21. Processes incoming and outgoing mail for sites and maintains postage machines at locations.
22. Attends and provides administrative support for clinical departmental meetings as needed.
23. Responds expediently to requests for order/lab report findings from external providers or to requests from external partners for patient progress reports and Plan of Care Updates.
24. Processes condolence material for bereaved family members.
25. Provides support to the Caregiver Support Center for mailing informational packets to callers.
26. Completes death and discharge audits to ensure that the EHR is correct, and all the required documentation has been received to meet regulatory requirements.
27. Maintains working knowledge of hospice Medicare Conditions of Participation and state-specific regulations to support compliant documentation practices.
28. Serves as a point of contact for troubleshooting EHR or documentation workflow questions from site-based clinical staff.
29. Provides weekend coverage and adjusts to changes in workload and schedules based on changing departmental/organizational priorities.*
30. Participates in internal and external meetings, education, training, in-services and other activities to promote personal and professional growth.
31. Adheres to the organizational Code of Conduct, policies, procedures, protocols, processes and all regulatory and legal requirements.
32. Adheres to the NorthStar standards to care for every person, every time, 100% of the time

Qualifications

1. High school diploma or equivalent required.
2. One (1) to two (2) years’ clerical experience with increasing level of responsibility required, telephone related experience, highly preferred.  Previous health care experience preferred.
3. Computer literate, with basic Microsoft Office Word and Excel skills required.
4. Must be familiar with and have advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications and standard office business machines.
5. Must possess sound judgment; effective organizational, prioritization and follow-through skills; attention to detail; accuracy; dependability; tact; and ability to maintain confidential information.
6. Must be able to read, write and speak English fluently and be able to effectively communicate orally and in writing in internal and external relationships for all essential job functions.
7. Excellent interpersonal skills required with a proven ability to work effectively with other staff members and as a team player required.
8. Must be able to coordinate several tasks simultaneously while maintaining a high degree of efficiency and accuracy.
9. The physical demands of the position include vision, effective speech and hearing for extensive telephone contact; repetitive motion; driving or riding in a motor vehicle; standing, sitting, walking, bending, reaching, and stretching; and lifting up to twenty-five (25) pounds unassisted. 
10. Must have reliable transportation
11. This position may require travel between office sites as scheduled.
12. This position will require weekend hours on a scheduled basis.
13. Must be eligible to work in the United States.