Referral Relations Supervisor

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position supervises and supports the patient referral, co-management and medical records service for the Referral Services department. In addition, this position is responsible for coordinating all activities related to the development and maintenance of medical and surgical referral relationships between Eye Associates physicians and external doctors. In addition, this position provides direct support for the OD Residency Program as well as mentoring, guidance, training and assistance to the Referral Services department as needed. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Refer to essential functions of the Ophthalmic Technician III (COT) or Ophthalmic Technician IV (COMT) job description relative to certification held by the employee, as defined by HR Policy #2.29--“Technical Training and Competency Expectations.”

• Establish and maintain working relationships with referral sources to ensure continued collaboration and referrals.
• Has a clear understanding of all processes and responsibilities within the Referral Services department.
• Assists with development and maintenance of departmental policies and procedures.
• Works closely with the Residency Program Administrators related to the OD Residency Program. 
• Collaborates with clinic staff to coordinate clinic and surgery center observation schedules for external students, residents, physicians, or other persons as requested and approved by EANM physicians.
• Explores and initiates educational programs which might be beneficial to the office staff members in referring doctor’s practices, including encouraging single point of entry service through the Dr2Dr department and the use of Phreesia Connect.
• Serves as a mentor for the department and a training resource for outside referral sources.
• Works closely with the Clinical Referral staff to serve as an immediate point of contact for external providers requesting expedited patient care, including facilitation of communication with the EANM on-call physician during normal business hours.
• Serves as the COPE administrator for all CME presentations for external optometrists. Responsible for coordinating, attending and submission of COPE activity and event requirements to ensure CE credits are issued appropriately.
• Responsible for initiating statewide communications (mailings, emails, phone calls, etc.) to advise referring doctors of changes to EANM physicians and new developments in eye care, including clinical trials which might benefit patients in their practices.
• Organizes and coordinates sponsorship activities which would be beneficial to referring doctor professional organizations and fund-raising opportunities for which collective efforts are made in the interest of improving eye care in New Mexico.
• Attends and schedules marketing and exhibition events as needed.
• Analyzes referral trends and comparative data on a regular basis to gauge the level of relationship satisfaction of the community. 
• Introductions of new EANM specialists to the community optometrists. 
• Works closely with the Director of Patient Access and Director of Optometric Services on collaborative projects or other duties as needed.
• Interacts with all EANM doctors, management, clinics, and departments within EANM on projects or to address issues as needed in the absence of the Manager.
• Assists with functions of the Referral Services staff members as needed. May include clinical functions based on technician certification. 
• Maintains dialogue with external and internal providers as needed concerning patient’s medications,
  diagnosis and treatment.
• Collaborates with the Manager with hiring and onboarding of new team members.
• Collaborates with the Referral Services Manager to audit the Referring Provider System in NextGen to ensure accuracy of contact information for our external referral sources.
• Contributes to continuing performance and process improvement initiatives surrounding Referrals, Co-Management and Medical Records.
• Collaborates with preceptors to provide assistance with training and guidance on relationship management and department job duties for new and existing staff members. 
• Acts as an intermediary resource to staff to provide guidance regarding information systems, technical and operational issues.
• Assists with delegating staff responsibilities in the event of call ins.
• Takes an active role in the Performance Review process with Manager/Director and regularly provides
   input into staff performance.
• Takes on all assigned duties and responsibilities that fall under the team in the absence of the Manager,
   including ADP duties.
• Collaborates with the Referral Services Manager and Clinical Referral Coordinator III to audit the work of other team members and provides coaching to staff on a regular basis.
• Assists Referral Services Manager and/or Director of Patient Access in developing and implementing quality goals and performance metrics for Referral Services staff
• Participates in both internal and external committees, meetings and/or events as requested by the Referral Services Manager and/or Director of Patient Access.
• In the absence of the Manager, works directly with Director of Patient Access on necessary tasks or
   responsibilities.
• Regularly attends leadership team and other project meetings as needed.
• The annual completion of assigned Learning Management System (LMS) courses is mandatory. Any individual who has not completed their assigned training prior to November 30th of each year may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
• Other duties as assigned.

KEY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Job Competency - with minimal guidance, performs the essential functions of the job. 
• Attendance/Tardiness – occasionally misses work, but no significant impact on job performance.
• Integrity - walks the talk, strives to do the right thing, accountable, honest and truthful, reliable, transparent, ethical, treats other fairly.
• Customer/Patient Focus – places the patient first, active listener, attentive, compassionate, responsive. 
• Adaptability- flexible in role and thinking, open minded, willing to change, agile, pro-active, resilient, responsive to new challenges.
• Community – works collaboratively helping the next team member to do their job well, let’s go and moves on, promotes a positive work culture, treats others with respect, communicates effectively, follows through, available to others.
• Excellence – doing our best every moment of every day, professional, can-do attitude, strives to improve, follows through, manages time and resources well, work is timely and accurate, attention to detail.

SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong service attitude and experience necessary for relationship management for referring doctors and their patients. 
• Sales, marketing and/or training experience preferred. Strong leadership and coaching skills required. 
• Minimum 2 years leadership experience with strong leadership and coaching skills required. 
• Minimum of 3 years ophthalmology experience with knowledge of all specialists within EANM preferred.
• Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) level or higher encouraged. If not certified, must obtain Corporate Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (CCOA) certification within 6 months. 
• Proficient in problem-solving, critical thinking and clinical decision making is essential. Excellent presentation, written and verbal communication skills are necessary with proficiencies in Microsoft Office Suite, practice management systems and electronic medical record systems. 
• Must be self-motivated and able to function independently in a multi-tasking environment, as well as a member of a team. 
• Flexible, positive attitude. Ability to collaborate with leaders, teams and individuals with the goal of enhancing patient access and customer experience. 
• Evening and weekend hours may be necessary.
• Must be willing to travel throughout the state of New Mexico as needed. 

 PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Requires the ability to speak, listen, and communicate orally and in writing. Must be able to develop and communicate written materials. Must be willing and able to travel as needed. 

Req. #2833