Director Access and Capacity Management - Change Management- Medical Center

JOB SUMMARY

At Houston Methodist, the Director Access and Capacity Management position is responsible for providing strategic leadership of Ambulatory Access, which strives to offer unparalleled access and scheduling experiences for our patients and community. Work collaboratively with executive, physician and clinic leadership to plan and execute ambulatory improvement initiatives focused on ambulatory patient access and serves as key promoter. Exercises leadership in motivating direct and indirect reports, physicians, administrators, managers and staff to incorporate vision, process change and strategic planning into patient and referring physician centered ambulatory access and service excellence, encouraging creative thinking and innovation, influencing others toward a spirit of service excellence and designing and implementing new or cutting edge programs/processes. Acts as the overall strategic leader of physician access initiatives including design, implementation and hardwiring innovative access strategies and technologies.

The Director position responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the department staff, ensuring quality, productivity, functional excellence and efficiency to accomplish strategic and operational objectives. In addition, this position is accountable for employee engagement, adequate staffing levels, budget development and compliance, staffing decisions such as hiring and terminating employment, coaching and counseling employees on work related performance, and developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and effective work environment. This position also ensures training, monitoring and operations initiatives are implemented which secure compliance with ethical and legal business practices and accreditation/regulatory/government regulations.

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Job responsibilities labeled EF capture those duties that are essential functions of the job.

PEOPLE - 20%

1. Directs, develops and implements strategic and operational/high level projects and processes either through independent/highly autonomous work or through the facilitation of work teams to enable the effective and efficient completion of objectives. (EF)
2. Oversees management of and ensures development for staff to meet overall objectives in terms of quality, service and cost effectiveness. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem. Directs management responsibilities of selection, scheduling, supervision, retention, and evaluation of employees. (EF)
3. Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department turnover and/or system metrics on employee engagement indicators. (EF)
4. Provides leadership and communication to maintain a competent and engaged employee group by conducting regular department meetings to review policies and procedures and operational matters, rounding on all employees, completing performance appraisals, conducting new hire feedback sessions, coaching/corrective counseling, and providing recognition/commendations to achieve desired outcomes. (EF)
5. Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, and units to achieve business goals. Drives the promotion of teamwork within and between departments; participates and/or leads and facilitates department process improvements as needed. (EF)
6. Works collaboratively with clinic operations, scheduling services, call centers, revenue management and IT to ensure effective template design. (EF)

SERVICE - 20%

1. Oversees department operations, designated projects, schedules and activities as needed to ensure that goals or objectives are accomplished within the prescribed time frame. Sets priorities and functional standards, giving direction to staff as necessary to ensure the best possible delivery of service and high customer/patient satisfaction. (EF)
2. Drives department service standards and activities to impact department and/or system score for patient/customer-based satisfaction, through role modeling and fostering accountability. Serves and actively participates on various entity committees as a voice for the department. (EF)
3. Engage in the design and execution of an ambulatory strategy for unparalleled patient access, including the balance of provider supply and demand, minimizing care. (EF)
4. Leads and implements new technologies and functionality to promote automation and innovation around patient access. (EF)
5. Offers guidance on best practices and directs clinic leaders to address opportunities to build schedules for optimal capacity according to guidelines and standards. Also, promotes accountability between clinic operations and scheduling services to proactively identify capacity opportunities and develop effective action plan. (EF)
6. Establishes and provides oversight to the application of enterprise-wide capacity management standards and guidelines. (EF)

QUALITY/SAFETY - 20%

1. Ensures a safe and effective working environment; monitors and/or revises the department safety plan and/or any specific accreditation/regulatory required safety guidelines. Responsible for staff maintenance of credentials and competencies, per accrediting/ licensing agency and/or department guidelines as applicable. (EF)
2. Employs a proactive approach in the optimization of safe outcomes and information systems by monitoring and improving the department workflow and enhancing operations, using peer-to-peer accountability and identifying solutions via collaboration. Implements process improvements utilizing tools such as lean principles. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety. (EF)
3. Responsible for employee compliance to policies and procedures and performs associated actions upon non-compliance (i.e., licensure/certification compliance, focal point review requirements, disaster plan, in-services, influenza immunization, wage and hour, standard hours, timely termination submission, timely timecard approval, etc.). (EF)
4. Establishes and provides oversight to enterprise-wide template standards and guidelines as well as ensure effective maintenance of scheduling guidelines.
5. Conducts periodic specialty-wide template reviews with clinic leaders to ensure templates match demand, minimize barriers and promote patient access. (EF)
6. Provides leadership and coordination to proactively understand and mitigate downstream impacts on scheduling, template and patient access-related changes. (EF)

FINANCE - 15%

1. Develops and manages department operational and capital budgets, approvals, and ongoing maintenance of the department(s), ensuring operation in a cost-effective manner. Proactively identifies and plans for capital needs related to current equipment and future department projects. Ensures staffing plans and schedules meet department needs that reflect understanding of the importance of cost-effectiveness. (EF)
2. Creates department strategies to achieve financial target and staffing needs, through optimizing productivity, supply/resource efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime and overtime percentage, and other areas according to department specifications. (EF)
3. Offers guidance on best practices and directs clinic leaders to address opportunities to build schedules for optimal capacity according to guidelines and standards. (EF)

GROWTH/INNOVATION - 25%

1. Identifies and implements innovative solutions for practice or workflow changes to improve department, entity or system operations by leading unit projects and/or other department/ system-directed activities. Proactively leads task forces and committees. May represent HM at assigned community or professional organization meetings. (EF)
2. Drives change initiatives, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusts effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures. Partners effectively with stakeholders as appropriate. (EF)
3. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development Plan (MDP) on an on-going basis. Conducts conversations with staff on their development and MDP. (EF)
4. Advises leadership to access best practices and recommends solutions to drive alignment between technical and operational efficiency while monitoring applicable industry trends, novel and emerging solutions. (EF)

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

o Bachelor’s degree required

o Master’s degree preferred

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

o Seven years of progressively responsible experience working in ambulatory physician clinic operations, of which five years should be in a people management role; to include two years of experience implementing and using advanced Epic scheduling functionality (i.e. decision trees and ticket scheduling)