Utilization Management Nurse - Christiana Hospital

FT Day Shift (Hours.: 8 AM - 4:30 PM)

Newark, DE

ChristianaCare Hospital in Newark, DE, is looking for a Utilization Management (UM) Nurse with experience in an acute care hospital setting.

The Utilization Management Nurse will be responsible for ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of healthcare services. This includes evaluating the medical necessity and appropriateness of utilizing healthcare services, procedures, and facilities in accordance with the relevant health benefits plan.

UTILIZATION MANAGEMENT

• Performs admission and concurrent review to identify medical necessity, level of care, and appropriateness of setting using established criteria and clinical guidelines within 24 hours of admission.
• Reviews the admission assessment and collaborates with primary nurse and other health care providers to ensure a multidisciplinary plan-of-care is in place to meet identified patient care needs and desired outcomes.
• Manages observation level of care and works with the attending physician and/or clinical provider caring for the patient to ensure observation status does not exceed 48 hours.
• Identifies system issues that serve as barriers to care.  Participates in the development and implementation of strategies to remove barriers and facilitate performance improvement measures.
• Monitors efficiencies in scheduling diagnostic procedures and coordination of treatments to facilitate the achievement of effective clinical, fiscal, quality, and patient satisfaction goals.
• Reports information generated from the utilization management referral process for LOS data and physician profile database.
• Collaborates with the unit medical director and/or physician advisor to facilitate achievement of clinical, quality, financial, and patient satisfaction goals.
• Notifies physician when a patient does not meet criteria for acute care hospitalization and pursues documentation to justify continued stay within 24 hours.
• Collaborates with the Physician Advisor to facilitate the achievement of clinical, quality, financial, and patient satisfaction goals.
• Presents “Letters of Non-Coverage (LON) to patients and/or families when the acute stay is no longer necessary (Third Party and/or Medicare).
• Communicates and secures continued stay authorization with Managed Care Organizations.
• Tracks all carve-outs and submits reason codes for data entry.
• Serves as a resource to nursing and ancillary staff, providing education on utilization review processes as needed.
• Trends potential barriers to patient advancement through the system intervene assertively and appropriately when necessary.
• Provides On-call support for the Transfer Center to evaluate medical necessity and appropriateness when a request is obtained from an outside facility for patient transfer to ChristianaCare
• Identifies the need for the patient to be evaluated by other members of the health care team and takes appropriate action to facilitate.
• ED UM works closely with ED providers to review medical necessity and/or collaborate with ED CM for discharge planning, as appropriate.

Education & Experience Requirements:

• DE RN licensure or compact state licensure. 
• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN) required.
• Minimum of 3 years of recent experience as a Registered Nurse in an acute care hospital setting, with required experience in Critical care.  
• Experience in Clinical Documentation, Case Management, or Utilization Management preferred.
• RN must complete at least 8 continuing education credits (CEUs) per year in Utilization and/or Case Management.
• Actively participates in department operational planning work groups required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Ability to ambulate within the hospital setting (walking, stairs, etc.).  Occasional sitting, standing, and lifting loads of 5-10 pounds.  Ability to utilize computer equipment/programs. Ability to sit or stand at a computer workstation and proficiently utilize computer equipment/programs for long periods of time.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Occasional exposure to Office materials (i.e., White Out, Toner, etc.)

Annual Compensation Range $85,862.40 - $137,384.00

This pay rate/range represents ChristianaCare’s good faith and reasonable estimate of compensation at the time of posting. The actual salary within this range offered to a successful candidate will depend on individual factors including without limitation skills, relevant experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements.

Christiana Care Health System is an equal opportunity employer, firmly committed to prohibiting discrimination, whose staff is reflective of its community, and considers qualified applicants for open positions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.