UnitedHealth Group

Care Advocate Southwest Houston Texas

Posted on: 6 Feb 2021

Houston, TX

Job Description

Do you have compassion and a passion to help others? Transforming healthcare and millions of lives as a result starts with the values you embrace and the passion you bring to achieve your life's best work.(sm)

The Care Advocate role is designed to engage and develop relationships with our members. This role focuses on proactive, best practices, consultation and improvement of quality care for members and / or their caregivers throughout the healthcare continuum. The primary responsibility for member support includes the initial engagement, coordination with our providers, connecting member with various care teams, educating member on pending/current hospitalizations, supporting member through next site of care as well as a 30-day discharge from a facility. As a Care Advocate, you will act as a resource and advocate for members and their caregivers to ensure an optimal member experience. This position is also responsible for coordination and communication to members, physicians and other care management teams serving as a liaison with external departments to ensure consistent member care. Includes but not limited to managing outgoing /incoming calls, scheduling provider appointments, providing information on available services, managing referral process and transferring members as appropriate to clinical staff.

Primary Responsibilities:

* Job Role Profile
* Comfortable in developing relationships with members and caregivers
* Compassionate disposition; especially toward elderly population
* Responsible for collaboration with all healthcare departments for member and/or their caregiver to anticipate the best possible member journey in a complex system
* Support and advocate for member and/or their caregiver in the continuum of care
* Able to function objectively in sensitive and stressful situations, while maintaining a positive attitude
* Must be self-motivated, think on one's feet, anticipate member needs, improvise, and synthesize extensive information to focus and resolve to deliver best in class care
* Ability to look at challenges as opportunities
* Performs all duties in a professional and responsible manner

* Job Scope and Guidelines
* Establishes a trusting relationship with identified members, caregivers, clinic staff and physicians (may be completed face-to-face or virtual with member).
* Proactively engages the member to coordinate their care needs
* Keeps member actively engaged with their primary care physician and assists member with any scheduling medical appointments/transportation
* Partners with the member's care team (community, providers, internal staff); serving as a liaison between member and/or caregiver and all health services / processes
* Connects members who need guidance and assistance ~~ ~~ with any specific barriers to healthcare identified through telephonic outreach with an appropriate care team to assist in solving the member's needs.
* Conduct Social Determinants of Health assessments to identify member needs and connect member with an appropriate care team to assist.
* Plans, prioritizes, organizes and completes work to meet established objectives.
* Review care history documentation (e.g., case notes); includes navigation between computer screens and platforms to research information (e.g., medical, clinical, or benefits information)
* Serves as primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders
* Conducts in-bound and out-bound calls including, but not limited to: member touch-points, clinical staff coordination, member scheduling, and/or surveys/screenings,
* Enters timely and accurate data into the electronic medical record to communicate member needs and ensure complete documentation of member visits and phone calls
* Performs all other related duties as assigned

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

This person will be able to work from home but will also be resonsible for making visits to patients in hospitals and clinics in the Southwest Houston area.

Hours are Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm

Required Qualifications:

* High School Diploma or GED
* 5+ years of experience in customer service support and/or engagement
* Excellent verbal and written skills
* Ability to interact productively with individuals and with multidisciplinary teams
* Excellent organizational and prioritization skills
* Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Outlook
* This position requires Tuberculosis screening as well as proof of immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis through lab confirmation of immunity, documented evidence of vaccination, or a doctor's diagnosis of disease
* You will be provisioned with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and are required to perform this role with patients and members on site, as this is an essential function of this role
* Employees are required to screen for symptoms using the ProtectWell mobile app, Interactive Voice Response (i.e., entering your symptoms via phone system) or a similar UnitedHealth Group-approved symptom screener prior to entering the work site each day, in order to keep our work sites safe. Employees must comply with any state and local masking orders. In addition, when in a UnitedHealth Group building, employees are expected to wear a mask in areas where physical distancing cannot be attained

Preferred Qualifications:

* Health care experience
* Bilingual in English and Spanish language proficiency
* Knowledge of medical terminology
* Basic understanding of Medicare and Medicaid health plans
* Experience working with Medicare and Medicaid populations
* Ability to comprehend and retain detailed information

Careers with WellMed. Our focus is simple. We're innovators in preventative health care, striving to change the face of health care for seniors. We're impacting 380,000+ lives, primarily Medicare eligible seniors in Texas and Florida, through primary and multi-specialty clinics, and contracted medical management services. We've joined Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of companies, and our mission is to help the sick become well and to help patients understand and control their health in a lifelong effort at wellness. Our providers and staff are selected for their dedication and focus on preventative, proactive care. For you, that means one incredible team and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.(sm)

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.

keywords: patient advocate, medicare, healthcare, engagement, care team, patient services, patient customer service, spanish, bilingual, houston, southwest houston, hospital, clinic, geriatric, seniors, members

UnitedHealth Group

Hopkins, MN

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older, addressing their needs for preventive and acute health care services, as well as services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals; and Medicaid plans, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and health care programs; and health and dental benefits.

The OptumHealth segment provides access to networks of care provider specialists, health management services, care delivery, consumer engagement, and financial services. This segment serves individuals through programs offered by employers, payers, government entities, and directly with the care delivery systems.

The OptumInsight segment offers software and information products, advisory consulting arrangements, and services outsourcing contracts to hospital systems, physicians, health plans, governments, life sciences companies, and other organizations. The OptumRx segment provides pharmacy care services and programs, including retail network contracting, home delivery, specialty and compounding pharmacy, and purchasing and clinical, as well as develops programs in areas, such as step therapy, formulary management, drug adherence, and disease/drug therapy management. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was founded in 1974 and is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

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