• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: 85,000 – 100,000

Position Summary

The Practice Operations Manager I leads, supervises, and coordinates overall operational and administrative functions of assigned practice(s) to ensure maximum efficiency, high quality patient experiences, and compliance with appropriate regulatory policies. 

The Practice Operations Manager I leads the practice in a manner that delivers an exceptional patient experience that contributes to positive health outcomes for patients and a work culture of service, trust, empathy, safety, inclusion, and communication.

Responsibilities

Practice Operations

• Works collaboratively with physicians, administrative and clinical managers, and staff to ensure the achievement of practice-wide operational and financial goals/metrics. Supervises and coordinates all processes and activities in the area/functions assigned, ensuring organizational guidelines and policies are followed.
• Operational oversight of Interventional Radiology (IR) patient coordination, pre-procedure readiness, safety workflows, and procedural throughput.   
• Develop and implement policies and procedures related to patient scheduling and operational issues in the office practice and exam area in collaboration with the medical and administrative staff of the practice, including oversight of Radiology scheduling workflows within RIS/PACS, EPIC, and patient flow, and alignment with IR scheduling requirements, pre-procedure documentation, recovery room timing, and coordination of same-day imaging.
• Oversee ordering and stocking of all clinical and office supplies (including PPE) within the office practice suite.  Monitor supply use and maintain and adjust par levels as needed, including purchase orders, reimbursements, vendor communication, and invoice approvals, as well as IR-specific supplies.
• Ensure optimal use of the facility throughout all hours of operation by optimizing staffing ratios, patient density and use of clinical space, and ensuring appropriate on-site oversight as the primary practice manager, including IR suite & recovery area utilization and room turnover workflow. 
• Monitor clinic manager dashboard including, but not limited to: Front Desk, Scheduling, Referrals, In Basket management as well as staff productivity for call volume, authorizations, and scheduling, ensuring patient access is optimized and schedules are filled to maximum capacity.
• Monitor all work queues for completion as they apply to practice operations, including Radiology imaging scheduling, patient flow, and referring provider coordination, and IR queues involving pre-procedure clearance, labs, and post-procedure scheduling.  
• Oversees completion and processing of all front-end Revenue Cycle activities including, but not limited to, physician billing; copay collection, charge champion, monitoring physician note closure, adherence to billing compliance and all Revenue Cycle procedures, etc., and implements workflows designed to improve patient satisfaction and imaging revenue cycle efficiency, including IR charge workflows,  and authorization needs for IR procedures.
• Monitor all physician billing related dashboard and metrics.
• Oversees the physical environment of all sites, interfacing with other departments including IT, telecommunications, housekeeping, facilities, and associated vendors, and supports equipment install/upgrade projects and IT upgrades, including IR suite equipment readiness, procedure room sterility standards, and radiology safety compliance.
• Oversight of sites' cleanliness and safety according to practice standards.  Escalates any issues to Environmental Services, Engineering, Central Sterile, Materials Management, etc. and ensures follow through, and leads incident reporting and root cause analysis for safety events or patient complaints, including IR-specific events such as contrast extravasation, radiation safety incidents, or procedural complications.  
• Creates the daily, weekly, and/or monthly assignment list to ensure adequate clinical coverage and provider support in the practice, including front desk staffing and coverage planning, and coordinating IR prep/recovery staffing to support safe and efficient procedure days.  
• Conduct daily scheduled meetings/huddles with staff to ensure consistent transfer of information, smooth patient flow, and team-driven coordination of care and services, including daily collaboration with radiologists and referring providers.
• Conducts regularly scheduled meetings with Supervisors and other Leads to develop new paths, procedures and approaches to maximize opportunities for performance and process improvement.

Strategy

• Monitors key performance indicators and implements performance improvement initiatives, as needed. Continuously seeks and implements operational improvements. Utilizes electronic medical record dashboards and reports to monitor keep performance indicators of operational, clinical and revenue cycle workflows to ensure a holistic view of the practice operation, including productivity and daily volume benchmarks, and IR-specific metrics such as case utilization rates, prep accuracy, and recovery room flow.
• Develops practice optimization and improvement strategies and utilizes a data driven methodology to monitor progress and staff performance assists with patient concerns and uses patient experience metrics to implements goals and improve satisfaction scores.
• Leads, supports, and mentors staff consistent with the department’s strategic plan, in order to maintain an efficient patient-centered environment ensuring an exceptional patient experience through kindness, inclusion, integrity, accountability, and excellence, responding to patient concerns to support improved satisfaction scores, including patient communication standards for IR preparation and recovery expectations.
• Utilizes database of patient activity, resource utilization, and budget variances; and identify trends and patterns for analysis and actions, including tracking operating trends and budget performance, and IR cost-tracking for implants, contrast, procedure supplies, and high-cost consumables
• Leads and/or participates in projects and performance improvement activities, including equipment installations, IT upgrades, and strategic volume initiatives, and IR-specific initiatives such as onboarding new procedures, technologist competencies, and cross-site standardization.
• Direct oversight of all customer satisfaction initiatives, displaying a positive attitude in interactions with staff, patients, and family members.
• Sets expectations for patient portal activation rates.  Monitors metrics and develops strategies to meet target goals, and partners with IT on EMR and patient portal optimization.   
• Participates as a member of the healthcare team and various interdisciplinary committees and project teams to improve patient care and meet patient needs including inter-site Radiology collaboration across the Columbia/NYP/Cornell network.

People

• Direct oversight of staff including recruiting and human resource management.  Ensures approved HR strategy is implemented and adhered to, including managing staff time, overseeing disciplinary actions, and directing staff activities when acting as the primary on-site practice manager.
• Ensures staff productivity benchmarks and quality measures are achieved.  Develops remediation plans as needed.  Establishes unit metrics and goals to measure effectiveness of retention strategies.
• Evaluates staff performance and competencies, approaching the performance review process constructively and conducts it in accordance with Human Resources and departmental guidelines and procedures. Offers continuing guidance and assistance to employees on work activities, procedures, competency development and performance-related issues as appropriate. Ensures leadership is kept aware of performance of each employee on an ongoing basis. Addresses any performance related issues promptly, including disciplinary actions when acting with delegated authority.
• Promotes staff professionalism and performance with coaching, training and feedback. Mentors others in individual and team accountability, modeling behavior and demonstrating best practices/techniques, and trains front desk staff while providing coverage during vacations or staffing gaps.
• Demonstrates self-development and keeps current on a variety of clinical management and health care topics.
• Acts as liaison between clinical sites, supporting collaboration with CU referring physicians, the Practice Administrator, and other Radiology locations across the Columbia/NYP/Cornell network

Compliance

• Oversees and documents the implementation and compliance with institutional policies, procedures, programs, protocols, and systems to provide an efficient and accurate patient encounter which improves the medical office’s effectiveness and the quality of patient outcomes.
• Compliance oversight of Article 28 practices.  
• Lead and participate in monthly tracer activities to support continuous readiness and regulatory compliance.
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory agencies, departmental and organization policies and procedures for all staff, including tracking of Radiology regulatory certifications (ACR, Image Gently, Image Wisely, operating licenses, lab licenses, etc.).
• Keeps current on all organizational, regulatory compliance and patient privacy trainings policies (e.g., infection control, public safety, EH&S, HIPAA, OSHA, etc.) and successfully complete all required trainings, and oversees Radiology compliance deliverables such as DOH flu reporting, WHS, and BLS/vaccine documentation.
• Maintain patient privacy and confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements at all times.
• Ensure that Medical Center, Department and Service Corp policies and procedures are followed, including maintenance of electronic employee files.
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent of education and experience.
• Four (4) years of related experience.   

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree is preferred.
• Physician practice experience preferred.
• Experience with EPIC and clinical workflow optimization.

Other Requirements

• Demonstrated intermediate or higher proficiency and/or understanding, knowledge and experience in project development and implementation, process evaluation, and performance and operational improvement in a health care delivery system setting;
• Demonstrated proficiency in project management skills including planning and executing technical and operational project activities with cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated strong proficiency and/or understanding of data sets; extract, evaluate, clean, and summarize; conduct qualitative and quantitative data analysis and validation as applicable to areas of responsibility. 
• Candidate must be well organized and be able to manage a demanding workload and moderately complex cases in an accurate and timely manner.
• Demonstrated strong proficiency in problem assessment, resolution, and collaborative problem solving in complex, and interdisciplinary settings. 
• Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form.  This position requires the ability to interact positively, constructively and effectively with professional staff, providers and organizational stakeholders. 
• Must be able to create and deliver high-level communication presentations for senior leadership and other organizational stakeholders.
• Ability to lead and mentor team through new and changing situations.  Demonstrate a professional and compassionate manner while conveying a positive image of the practice.
• Ability to work independently and follow-through and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a culturally diverse staff and patient/family population demonstrating tact and sensitivity in stressful situations.
• Strong proficiency of Microsoft Office (Word & Excel) or similar software is required and an ability and willingness to learn new systems and programs.
• Must be a motivated individual with a positive mindset and exceptional work ethic.
• Must successfully complete systems training requirements.
• Leads with integrity, fostering trust, accountability, and professionalism across the unit.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.