Associate Vice President, Access Strategic Operations

The mission of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.

The Associate Vice President, Access Strategic Operations, is to direct strategic, operational and administrative activities related to ambulatory patient access across the enterprise. This includes coordination of patient intake, registration, coordination financial authorization, triage to the appropriate provider and appointment, and scheduling. Will serve as the primary administrative leader for the co-creation and implementation of Access services standardization and governance. Oversees the ongoing collaboration with relevant stakeholders for operations of new and existing service lines to establish best practices and implement continuous improvement processes for all MD Anderson Cancer Center sites.

JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES:

ACCESS STRATEGY, OPERATIONS, STANDARDIZATION & ACCOUNTABILITY

• Partners with the Associate Vice President, Access Services to direct the development and ongoing refinement of a comprehensive consumer access vision, strategy and associated tactics.
• Plans, organizes and directs all activities related to Access services management, including but not limited to intake centers and phone calls, new patient registration, and insurance authorization and coordination with patient appointment scheduling.
• Directs and ensures compliance in the evaluation, implementation, and maintenance of and accountability for evidenced-based Access Center and patient access metrics and management tools.
• Responsible for ensuring consistent standardization across access services, including telephony, registration, scheduling, and insurance authorizations.
• Partners with Associate Vice President, Access Services to monitor provider capacity and provide guidance and recommendations to clinical areas regarding provider availability and associated clinical templates to ensure alignment to activity demands and organizational goals.
• Maintains competencies of Epic work queue processes and implements standardization across all access areas in order to maximize efficiencies throughout the revenue cycle.
• Measures and monitors new patient intake, registration, financial authorization and scheduling activities affecting the revenue cycle.
• Coordinates with leaders across the clinical enterprise for scheduling and authorization of hospital and other services such as diagnostic imaging, radiation oncology, laboratory medicine, perioperative services and other services related to patient access.
• Promotes communication and adequate flow of information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Participates in managed care projects and negotiations related to Access operations.
• Evaluates and directs operational changes needed to reach financial goals.
• Determines area-specific strategy and tactics for access operations; identify areas of opportunity; design successful launch of initiatives in a timely fashion.

CLINICAL QUALITY & OUTCOMES, SAFETY AND EDUCATION
• Ensures that operational practices are improved through the development, implementation and evaluation of continuous quality improvement initiatives.
• Complies with institutional, divisional and unit-based policies and procedures and external regulatory requirements. Implements and evaluate strategies to ensure continuous safety and accreditation readiness.
• Establishes quality benchmarks and implements plans to promote the professional development of staff.
• Identifies opportunities to utilize data about performance measures and outcomes in conjunction with the Associate Vice President, Access Services, CMDs and the center leadership teams on target areas for priority attention.
• Ensures staffing resources are adequate to support work activity while maintaining fiscal accountability. Promotes a Just Culture that supports non-punitive reporting of safety concerns and events.

INTAKE MANAGEMENT, NAVIGATION & HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE

• Oversees the intake and life cycle of a patient referral from call center through arrival for first appointment(s) at MD Anderson, tracking activity and providing analysis of referral information and data management processes. Works to achieve streamlined, patient-centric processes for tracking referrals among various healthcare entities—to and from hospitals, HIEs, physician practices, pharmacies, internal and external labs and imaging centers and coordination of such from screening to survivorship.
• Provides oversight and guidance for coordinated care to enhance patient and provider experiences across ambulatory areas.
• Understands the Epic platform and ensures Electronic Health Record integration and/or access between systems/providers as applicable. Ensures data exchange from both clinic and hospital EHRs using standard compliant data-exchange methods.
• Directs and facilitates processes to enhance public and referring physician rapid access to MD Anderson services across the multi-campus care enterprise.
• Identifies opportunities and co-creates and supports implementation of strategies to increase patient volume to clinics and ancillary departments, reduces system leakage and no-shows, improves the referral rate and enhances revenues.
• Identifies operational leakage and service disruptions, including continuous review of overall customer service, review of service-line / disease site utilization by referral source and assessment of performance metrics such as schedule rate and turn-around time.

CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, QUALITY & PATIENT EXPERIENCE

• Assesses, recommends and directs improvements in systems, processes and programs across access operations to increase standardization, productivity, efficiency and cost savings.
• Partners with Associate Vice President, Access Services to direct continuous improvement projects designed to meet operational, patient and provider needs. Ensures completion of special projects and system analysis. Leads project analysis and evaluates outcomes and obstacles to project completion.
• Partnership with Information Services and Innovation Center to identify, design and implement related technology, digital and other related solutions.
• Leads and/or participates in institutional committees and working groups to understand complex operational issues and develop and implement scalable, sustainable solutions.
• Promotes a culture of customer service throughout areas of responsibility and operates in a manner that ensures the delivery of superior service experience to the patients and referring providers.
• Ensures all Access staff across the enterprise are trained and proficient in providing the best possible patient and provider experience. Responsible for planning, implementation and oversight of customer service improvement initiatives.
• Initiates and completes special projects and studies within designated timelines. Demonstrates strong organizational skills as they relate to prioritizing tasks and presentation of key elements. Demonstrates the ability to involve key personnel to meet project objectives. Effectively and consistently communicates project status to all involved parties through project completion.
• Acquires and disseminates leading practices from relevant industries and guides how to customize, as appropriate, to the MD Anderson environment. Identifies and facilitates decision- making on standards to implement throughout the institution.
• Ensures appropriate engagement and co-creation of new and refined solutions.
• Interacts routinely with faculty and senior leadership to ensure communication regarding changes in processes and policies.

TRAINING, REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE

• Partners with Associate Vice President, Access Services to develop and direct training and development programs for faculty and staff concerning access operations.
• Ensures proficiency, understanding of staff in access services by creating a climate and culture of professional development among the staff of the MD Anderson locations.
• Ensures effective resource management, facilitation of customer service and consistent compliance with hospital operational policies and procedures.
• Coordinates to ensure access services area have appropriate space, privacy and resources to meet regulatory guidelines while functioning efficiently and meet productivity goals and patient care needs.
• Provides planning and oversight for continued readiness for access to meet institutional, state and federal regulatory guidelines.