As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, diversity, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

Under the direction of the RN Nurse Coordinator and Transplant Management, the Transplant Program Specialist proactively collaborates with the Transplant team to establish, coordinate, and perform all administrative duties required to support the team. The Transplant Program Specialist uses critical thinking and advanced problem-solving skills to assist the Transplant RN Coordinators in growing the number of patients listed for transplant in accordance with regulatory requirements from UNOS and CMS. The position operates as the liaison between patient and the Transplant clinical staff in communicating relevant information by telephone and written correspondence. This role is responsible for maintaining the transplant data base, accurate data entry, ongoing training of new staff and keeping up-to-date with the regulatory changes in UNOS and CMS. The Transplant Program Specialist must function independently and possess 1) professional demeanor, 2) exceptional problem-solving skills, 3) a “can-do” work philosophy, and 4) exceedingly positive and compassionate disposition.

Corporate Overview: University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics is an integrated academic healthcare system with five hospitals including a level 1 trauma center, eleven community health centers, over 1,600 providers, and a health plan serving over 200,000 members. University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. In addition to our clinical delivery system, we have a School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and College of Health providing education and training for over 1,250 providers annually. We have over 2 million patient visits annually and research grants exceeding $350 million.

• Primary intake for all program referrals including assessment of clinical urgency of the referral and identification of key clinical records required for evaluation. Collaborates with Transplant Financial Coordinators to assure appropriate authorization obtained for patients prior to evaluation visit.
• Schedules transplant recipient / donor complex appointments including initial referral, special follow up appointments and medical workup
• Creates and continually updates new patient charts, referral packets, educational materials and all documentation needed for entire multidisciplinary team
• Coordinates transplant evaluation testing which may include but not limited to lab, radiology, cardiology testing, pulmonary testing, surgical and medical specialty clinics, social work, psychiatry, palliative, gastroenterology testing and consults, cardiac and pulmonary rehab, physical therapy, home health and other specific consults as appropriate
• Enters verbal orders, prioritizing orders based on clinical urgency, and assure completion and appropriate follow up by transplant clinician of all orders in EMR and OSH
• Facilitates scheduling of living and non-related organ donation and transplantation surgeries and any required pre surgery critical validation relating to blood type, serologies, and other key donor / recipient details
• Conduct UNOS/UNET reviews and assure high % of accuracy with regulatory data submission
• Receive and oversee completion of FMLA and Disability paperwork for patients and their caregivers
• Manage program-specific calendars for entire team and patient schedules
• Participate in outreach activities for each program including educational events, clinics and follow up in sites internal and external to the UUH facility
• Works as a transplant team liaison with the patient, their family and caregiver, the outside healthcare professionals and ancillary hospital departments
• Coordinates all educational materials, packets, patient questionnaires, electronic presentations and any other patient-facing material as directed by the RN coordinator
• Assists in managing clinic flow and conduct of clinic for all recipients and donors including virtual or in-person meet and greets and testing procedures
• Conducts medication review with patients
• Collects, maintains and updates all pre- and post- transplant medical records including eHealth and OSH results and documentation, patient health maintenance information, and any other specialized testing including physical CDs, downloads/uploads, images
• Accurate entry of all transplant procedure charges at time of transplant.
• Composes and distributes all written communications with patients and referring providers per transplant department protocols including transplant listing and delisting regulatory letters
• Triages patient / family, internal UUH clinical staff, and external provider calls into the program; assisting nurse coordinator in determining clinical urgency of incoming calls
• Coordinate discharge transition to outpatient setting ensuring all appropriate appointments, and testing is scheduled and patient understands the immediate post transplant follow up schedule and testing requirements.
• Active participation in multidisciplinary patient selection meetings, and morbidity and mortality reviews; including preparation and minutes of organ-specific meeting. Report patient specific updates as requested by clinical team.
• Act as point of contact for transplant patient death notification and post mortem encounters
• Maintain accurate transplant medical record through continuous review and update of all critical transplant fields: Phase, Status, Reason throughout all phases of transplant. Ongoing monitoring of obituaries, and mortality reports, to assure Transplant Record is accurate for death, organ status, and other critical transplant data elements.
• Maintains advance knowledge of all phases of transplant and system utilized to capture transplant specific details, including Epic Phoenix, UNET, SRTR, Breeze, XGY, OPO and other regulatory related data interfaces appropriate for each organ group
• Primary organ specific contact for patients, staff, and external providers
• Promotes excellence in all customer service and guest relations with all transplant patients and their caregivers

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Demonstrate exceptional human relations and effective communication skills.

• Ability to remain calm when assisting chronically ill patients regarding potentially life threatening symptoms or side effects.

• Ability to triage patient needs and direct them appropriately.

• Ability to organize complex appointments for each patient who requires the coordination of multiple healthcare professional schedules.

• Ability to multitask complex issues while using critical thinking skills to assist chronically ill patients

• Demonstrated proficiency in EHR order entry in the following areas: anatomy and physiology, basic laboratory values, critical thinking, electronic health records, Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), medical terminology and pharmacology.

Qualifications

Required

• Associate’s degree in related field or equivalency.
• Two years of relatable work experience

Licenses Required

• Current RQI Healthcare Provider eCredential through the University of Utah Health RQI system. The eCredential is to be obtained within 30 days of hire.

* Additional license requirements as determined by the hiring department.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This position involves sedentary to light working conditions in a healthcare setting that may exert up to 20 pounds and may consistently require lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or otherwise moving objects.

Carrying, Climbing, Color Determination, Crawling, Far Vision, Lifting, Listening, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Non Indicated, Pulling and/or Pushing, Reaching, Sitting, Speaking, Standing, Stooping and Crouching, Walking