Clinical Section Administrator 2

Department
 

BSD PED - Senior Operations Staff

About the Department
 

In the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago, we strive to provide the highest level of complex care for children from diagnosis and treatment to conducting research to find promising new therapies with a focus on teaching. We are committed to advancing the frontiers of knowledge, and the education and training of future clinical pediatricians, subspecialists, educators, clinical investigators and physician-scientists. Professional and investigative aspects of medicine are readily combined and the attributes of academic life are easily recognized in the Department of Pediatrics. Our faculty and staff value the designation ‘teacher of teachers’ and appreciate the importance of research training, individual creativity and high quality comprehensive clinical care and service. The Department of Pediatrics is a dynamic, stimulating place to work, and because we are focused on growth and improved excellence, our staff have particularly challenging and rewarding roles.

Job Summary
 

Lead administrative officer for multiple sections in the Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Revenue, all pediatric ambulatory practices, and department-wide compliance with University and Divisional guidelines and expectations.
This position manages multiple related teams of managers and professional staff responsible for the financial and administrative oversight for the teaching, research and clinical care missions of their sections. Develops departmental plans. Provides leadership and supervision to a large staff of exempt and non-exempt employees, including management teams.
This position manages the administrative, financial and operational activities of the Pediatric clinical practice and related Hospital functions to support the clinical, educational and research missions. Provide administrative leadership to the executive team, medical faculty and staff, research faculty and staff in formulating and implementing organizational goals and objectives. Directly responsible for daily administrative aspects of the Department's clinical activities, related inpatient and outpatient operations, budgets, finances, marketing, public relations, fundraising and other activities related to the pediatric enterprise. Plan, coordinate, direct and control broad and complex financial and management functions of the sections in support of teaching, research and clinical care. Manage the implementation, direction, and policy development in areas of finance (revenue/expense management), professional fee billing, grants/contracts, human resources, academic appointment processing, Medical Staff Office appointment processing, facility operations, and fellowship training programs. Participate in negotiating agreements, preparing strategic plans and other activities associated with the Department's affiliate hospitals or clinics. Conduct special studies and projects, including the development and enhancement of funding opportunities by working closely with the faculty in each section.
Strategic Planning:
In conjunction with the department chairman and senior executive leadership, formulate tactical planning for growth and viability of clinical programs. Conduct comprehensive feasibility studies for evaluation of new and existing programs; assessment of facility requirements; funding and staffing needs. Provide leadership in planning facility expansion, new building construction, program planning and fundraising activities. Develop clinical/operational programs to address programmatic and financial issues facing hospital and department to ensure clinical, educational and research missions are being met. Assist faculty in pursuit of research funding and grants management.
Operations Management:
Develop and implement operational plans to ensure hospital and clinical program performance and contribution to Hospital and BSD. Gather from internal and external sources appropriate data to measure performance in acute inpatient and ambulatory hospital operations. Provide information on operational trends to support hospital's and department's planning requirements. Develop plans for new operating and patient flow systems within hospital and department which are sensitive to organizational needs to ensure efficient accomplishments of objectives, and to secure resources as necessary. Prepare hospital and department for changing federal, state and third party policies regarding reimbursement of health care delivery services. Develop and maintain sound clinical management structure, operating policies, procedures, and staffing to meet operational needs of hospital and department. Provide direction to section administrators and other managers. Develop long and short range action plans to achieve collaborative results and maximize individual and collective strengths. Direct departmental operations related to physician practice plan expenditures and revenues, sponsored research, ambulatory care, third party contract, hospital contracts, and staffing. Monitor accomplishment of agreed upon objectives. Where appropriate, recommend to executive leadership corrective actions including reallocating resources, reprioritizing, and/or recommending modifications/variance to established plans and budgets. Direct evaluation, development and maintenance of control systems pertaining to operational/programmatic management of clinical activities. Identify needs for information or service from other administrators to accomplish organizational objectives/standards; evaluate whether appropriate systems are in place to serve needs. Manage personnel to achieve human resources and organization development goals, ensuring that all human resources activities are carried out consistent with the hospital and University personnel policies in an appropriate and consistent manner. Monitor and lead administration and oversight of academic appointment processes, including recruitment, appointment, onboarding, reappointment, and promotion of faculty. Ensure timely and accurate processing of academic appointments and medical privileges for new and ongoing faculty. Ensure faculty and staff are compliant with all training and documentation required by University and external agencies. Act as liaison to internal and external review agencies including IDPH, RRC, internal audit and compliance office. Manage and direct the achievement of employee and patient satisfaction goals.
Financial Management:
Administer hospital and departmental budgets during course of the fiscal year, including recommendation to executive leadership for the release of funds for expenditure and review/approval process for capital equipment. Develop and manage budgets for respective sections.
Clinical Revenue:
Oversee the revenue cycle activities for the department with the goal of maximizing charge capture and reimbursement in a cost-effective manner that is in compliance with federal, state, and payer-specific billing requirements. Qualified candidates must possess a deep understanding of the charge capture and coding processes. Provide ongoing audits and training to managers and providers by specifically focusing on charge capture and coding activities.
Compliance:
Identify potential areas of compliance vulnerability and risk; recommends corrective action plans and where appropriate develop and implement those plans for resolution of problematic issues, and provide general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future.
Provide reports on a regular basis and, as directed or requested keep senior leadership informed of the operation and progress of compliance efforts. Monitor, and as necessary, coordinate compliance activities to remain abreast of the status of all compliance activities and to identify trends.
This position will be eligible for flexible work arrangements (e.g. flex schedule, remote work) pending periodic performance evaluations.

Responsibilities

• Manages policy development and implementation in various departmental areas. 

• Oversee and provide strategic direction of the Department’s professional fee billing efforts to ensure regulatory compliance and appropriate charging and collection activities. This consists of, but should not be limited to: working with faculty and staff to ensure proper medical record documentation for services provided and proper coding of services billed, developing and maintaining billing database for use by staff, and improving processes as needed. 

• Represent the interests of the clinical department to colleagues in the Biological Sciences Division and University of Chicago Medicine. Act as a departmental liaison with University of Chicago Physicians Group (UCPG) to facilitate the flow of data into the UCPG system. Serve as a liaison with UC Medicine Medical Records, Hospital Administration, Finance, Admitting, Quality Assurance, Medical Center Information Systems, and the Medical Staff Office. 

• Keep senior departmental administrators and faculty apprised of regulatory changes and their impact. Coordinate long-range planning of implementation of new procedures as a result of these changes. 

• May participate in facilitating seminars and workshops on coding techniques, medical records documentation, and regulatory compliance to staff and providers, as needed. 

• Develop departmental policies relating to billing activities and practices. 

• Develop and prepare/utilize reports to track financial and operational performance of the revenue cycle process. 

• Research/analyze data to resolve charge capture and reimbursement issues, identify and select alternatives to address outstanding issues and implement solutions for improvement, Work with department leadership, finance, physicians, and administrators to educate and train providers and staff about coding and other outstanding revenue cycle issues. Guides departmental compliance efforts by participating in training sessions, performing audits, and promoting an understanding of procedures, policies, and expectations. 

• Manages multiple related teams including those within hospital functions. 

• Oversees non-medical activities of the department. 

• Provides leadership to managers and professional staff within a department to support teaching, medical research, and clinical care. Facilitates research initiatives of the faculty and staff. 

• Establishes department priorities, allocates resources, and executes strategic plans. 

• Performs other related work as needed. 

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications  

 

Education: 

• Advanced degree in business, health care administration or related field. 

 

Experience: 

• Healthcare and/or academic medical experience. 

• Supervisory experience. 

• Experience preparing major federal awards and/or initiation of clinical trials. 

• Demonstrated budgeting and forecasting experience.  

• Previous coding and charge capture experience, as well as thorough working knowledge of ICD-10CM and CPT-4 coding systems. 

• Previous experience with charge capture management and gross revenue management.

• Experience in Epic revenue cycle and/or clinical applications. 

• Prior experience in a hospital finance setting (i.e. reimbursement, chargemaster, patient financial services, hospital operations, etc.). 

 

Technical Skills or Knowledge: 

• Knowledge of accounting principles. 

• Analytical skills. 

• Problem-solving skills. 

• Quantitative skills. 

• Knowledge of spreadsheet and word processing programs. 

• Knowledge of grant and award administration. 

• Knowledge of hospital finances and administration. 

• Knowledge of administering a physician practice plan. 

 

Preferred Competencies   

• Thorough working knowledge of federal and state regulations regarding reimbursement. 

• Demonstrated ability in financial analysis and modeling. 

• Thorough working knowledge of medical terminology validated by testing or certification. 

• Knowledge of third-party payer rules, procedures, policies, and industry trends in all areas of billing and collection. 

• Familiarity with electronic billing and medical records systems, specifically Epic. 

• High levels of decision-making skill, accountability, and creativity. 

• Ability to communicate technical information to departmental faculty and staff. 

• Excellent ability to read, understand and interpret, analyze and apply complex regulatory requirements. 

• Ability to work efficiently under pressure. 

• Ability to apply appropriate supervisory, management, and leadership techniques. 

• Ability to work independently with a high degree of initiative. 

• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, set priorities, and meet deadlines. 

• Ability to deal effectively with change, and be a change agent. 

• Ability to deal effectively with difficult situations. 

• Ability to set priorities and use good judgment for self and staff. 

• Ability to work with changing deadlines and shifting priorities. 

• Strategic leadership skills. 

• Attention to detail. 

• Interpersonal skills. 

• Negotiation skills. 

• Ability to maintain confidentiality. 

 

Working Conditions   

• High-stress environment.

 

Application Documents   

• Resume (required) 

• Cover letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Administration & Management

Role Impact
 

People Manager

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

40

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

Yes

Health Screen Required
 

Yes

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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