Care Navigator

Description

Job Title: Care Navigator  

Reports to: Clinical Operations Manager

Company Summary: Ascend Medical, founded in 2021, has a mission to elevate body, mind and soul. Our advanced primary care clinically integrates behavioral, metabolic and lifestyle aspects of health to keep you well physically, mentally and emotionally. Ascend started as a convenient, hybrid delivery model spanning digital and at home modalities, meeting patients where they are: at home, at work or anywhere else. We have since evolved and now partner with traditional primary care providers to augment their offering, allowing patients to experience Ascend through brick-and-mortar, digital and at-home channels. 

Unlike your typical healthcare system, Ascend is designed to innovate. Innovation starts with a culture that is excited to reimagine healthcare and is not afraid to disrupt. We try to avoid any micro-management of employees but rather embrace a core set of values that empower our team-members to make smart decisions: 

Our values:

• Patients before Profits 
• Empathy before Expedience  
• Progress before Stagnation 
• Team before Individual 
• Safety before Everything 

At Ascend Medical, you’ll be part of a team of caring and innovative professionals who are forging a new path in healthcare – one that is patient-centered, affordable, and highly convenient. Ascend boasts the highest patient satisfaction scores in the industry (net promoter score consistently above 95) and we excel in delighting patients. 

Company benefits: 

We offer a competitive benefits package to our employees: 

• Medical 
• Dental 
• Vision 
• 401k w/ Match 
• Generous PTO, paid parental leave, company holidays
• Free healthcare with Ascend including telemedicine options 
• Flexible schedule and work/life balance 

Position Summary: Care Navigators are the company’s patient support liaisons and are often the first Ascend care team member to interact with new members, an important role where the company’s commitment to patient-first accessible healthcare is on display. Care Navigators are responsible for managing crucial aspects of a patient’s individualized care plan including providing clinical and administrative support, triaging patients, booking appointments, and preparing patients for examinations. With one-on-one interactions, this role will directly impact the lives of people – helping them get comfortable with a new approach to primary care. The Care Navigator is an integral member of a team focused on providing excellent and comprehensive primary care for a specific population of patients. 

Key Performance Outcomes:  

• 100% consent forms collected from the patient 
• 100% of credit cards collected prior to appointment, combined with front office, 
• 80% reappointment, new patients 
• 60% reappointment, existing patients (may already been rescheduled so weighted reappointment %) 
• 100% follow up on labs, referrals, prescriptions 
• Present with a polished professional appearance with the ability to demonstrate kindness, compassion, energy, and a patient-first focus. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Book telehealth appointments, triage patients virtually, and records patient interview, history & chief complaint utilizing Ascend’s EMR. 
• Facilitate telehealth consultations by pre-visit chart review or planning, ensuring all equipment is operable prior to appointment, orienting patients to the technology, facilitates communication between provider and patient as needed, and participating in assessments by utilizing technology and other equipment for the purposes of the telehealth encounter. 
• Prepare patients for examinations and performs/sets up referrals for routine screening tests; assists physician with exams; explain treatment procedures and physicians' instructions to patient. 
• Work directly with the Care Coordinator to ensure all patients have care plans and follow up appointments lined out by the provider.  
• Organize and manage inbound and/or outbound communications – calls, chats, and emails as assigned.  
• Offer advice and guidance to new and existing members, educating new members on the 

benefits of Ascend Medical and clearly guide members on how to utilize the company’s services, and assist patients to understand and navigate their health insurance so they maximize available benefits.  

• Processes patient phone messages, online messages, follow up calls, and routing them to other team members as appropriate; call/secure messaging with patients to obtain and relay pertinent information for the physician. 
• Conduct business in a service-oriented manner that is attentive, cooperative, sensitive, respectful, and kind with dealing with patients, visitors, the public and all colleagues

Qualifications: 

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.  
• Graduate from a nationally accredited Medical Assistant program OR equivalent healthcare preparation (i.e. foreign-trained physician, paramedic, etc.) is required. 
• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) preferred 
• Minimum of 2 years MA experience working in a healthcare setting required. 
• Must be current in CPR certification  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of clinical procedures, medical anatomy, physiology, ICD-10 and CPT codes, insurance eligibility, and copay determination. 
• Excellent communication skills utilizing appropriate medical terminology; and following appropriate legal and ethical professional conduct. 
• Creative minded to leverage the strengths of Ascend to problem solve needs 
• High energy, growth minded, and curious to learn more 
• Highly Adaptable  
• Critical thinker- understands nuance and can read between the lines 
• Team player, you’re joining a company where collaboration and feedback is encouraged.   
• Must enjoy the art of the conversation and thrive in an environment that necessitates frequent communication with multiple people. 
• Self-aware problem solver and have a passion to change the landscape of primary healthcare.   
• Must be task oriented, self-motivated, and able to work remotely without supervision. 
• Strong ability to utilize technology, experienced with documentation into an EMR  
• Spoken and written fluency in English. Bilingual preferred 

Work Environment: This is a high growth, fast paced small organization. The ability to be productive, agile, and successful in an intense work environment is critical. 

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.