Associate Practice Manager

About the role

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.

In collaboration with leadership, the Associate Practice Manager provides strategic operational leadership, supervision and direction for all administrative, financial, regulatory, quality, human resources, patient/employee satisfaction, and clinical aspects for a practice with fewer than 10 staff directly and indirectly managed and fewer than 15,000 budgeted annual visits. Complexity factors may include multiple practice locations, high square footage, service line oversight, coordination of inpatient services, coordination across departments/entities, academic involvement (research, resident programs), special clinical programs, multiple clinical specialties, complex regulatory requirements, and management of external partnerships.

Entity: CCA: Penn Primary Care and Penn Specialty Practices | Department: PPC and Integrative Med Whtlnd | Location: Penn Primary Care & Integrative Medicine, 724 W Lincoln Hwy

Responsibilities

• Daily practice operations: Ensure efficient and effective management of patient scheduling, billing, coordination of services/facilities, quality care delivery, quality initiatives, patient/customer focus (satisfaction scores), financial goal achievement, collaborative work environment (retention/engagement), workflow efficiency (technology/best practices), regulatory compliance, liaison to embedded specialists/external stakeholders/UPHS providers, facility management, and staff management (direct and indirect).
• Internal relationships: Regularly meet with employees (staff and physicians) to improve communication and build productive relationships; solicit and provide constructive feedback.
• Employee communication: Continuously communicate the importance of patient satisfaction, quality of care, and sound financial performance; champion successes and priorities for meeting/exceeding expectations.
• Internal partnerships: Work with leadership, clinical leadership, affiliates, and suppliers to develop programs, services, and initiatives that anticipate customer needs, build loyalty, and generate profitable growth; participate in operational integration ensuring communication alignment.
• Customer relations: Spend time with staff, physicians, patients, and families to understand needs, build relationships, and gauge satisfaction; ensure satisfaction through comprehensive, continuous measurement for all key customer groups.
• Facility management: Develop positive relationships with building owners, construction, township, and other personnel as needed.
• Clinical service groups & product service lines: Support leadership in partnering with affiliates to develop mutually beneficial clinical, operational, and marketing programs.
• Professional associations & benchmarking: Interface with industry associations as organizational representative and to identify benchmarks.
• Development: Identify and participate in development activities; apply learning for improved performance.
• General accountabilities: Demonstrate ownership of role’s contribution to success; commit to clean/safe working environment; use resources wisely; value diversity and modify interactions for diverse patient/family needs; participate in patient/employee safety initiatives.
• Strategic planning: Collaborate with department/entity leadership on strategic plan/budget implementation, including strategic imperatives and success measures; participate in program development (analysis, resource planning, space/facility management).
• Patient care processes: Ensure all patient care processes (registration/scheduling, medical records, clinical care, patient flow) deliver high-quality, efficient care; provide hands-on coverage; maintain clean/safe/patient-friendly environments; ensure outsourced services meet standards; equip teams with clinical/informational/organizational tools; resolve patient/family concerns timely; proactively identify problems, define/implement/monitor solutions.
• Clinical effectiveness & quality improvement: Support creation of clinical effectiveness targets, improvement plans, and reporting systems; support leadership in performance measurement/management for access, quality, service, value; provide leadership for annual clinical effectiveness targets/strategies (budget process).
• Regulatory compliance: Ensure compliance with federal, state, local standards (DOH, TJC, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, OSHA, CLIA, etc.); complete yearly education (HIPAA, OSHA, Safety, CLIA); manage audit/survey processes for practices under leadership.
• Change management: Support proactive change management strategies for major organizational/practice activities; implement strategies aligned with entity/UPHS objectives; execute communication plans; ensure follow-up on major issues; manage routine/crisis communications; recognize systemic impact of communication/policy changes and solicit proactive feedback.
• Financial management: Review/approve bi-weekly timecards, manage overtime, manage employee/physician schedules and time-off; accountable for practice financials (expense/revenue variances, AR indicators, write-offs, root-cause analysis); ensure financial controls and compliance with federal/state/professional/local requirements; oversee revenue cycle management and alignment with standards; support managed care contract implementation and operational processes.
• Practice financial strategies & policies (as assigned): Support operational/finance leadership in developing/implementing common financial systems and standards.
• Practice budgeting & operating planning analysis (as assigned): Assist in capital/operating budget development using system-wide standards; partner with leadership on performance targets, variance reporting, remediation plans.
• Practice schedules: Manage coverage to ensure adequate staffing for clinic operations.
• Office supplies: Manage efficient usage and ordering to ensure adequacy.
• Reporting: Regularly run reports, analyze data, generate summary findings to assess efficiency and identify improvement areas; communicate to stakeholders.
• Research support (if applicable): Support physicians in research initiatives (protocol compliance, implementing research goals with clinic operations).
• Academic support (if applicable): Support physicians for academic involvement (CV/CME updates, credentialing, reimbursements).
• Recruitment & retention: Select staff demonstrating professional requirements and UPHS core values; create work environment aligned with core values; ensure adequate orientation/training for new hires.
• Performance management: Clearly define work expectations; recognize/reward good performance; address performance issues immediately/directly; conduct annual appraisals; ensure compliance with mandatory trainings (KL) and competency assessments.
• Development: Assist staff with challenges/skill deficits; assign work using skills/talents, providing responsibility, challenge, creativity, leadership opportunities; provide continuous guidance/support; encourage growth, identify stretch objectives, create learning plans; maintain development plans reviewed annually.
• Organization health: Be accessible to physicians and staff; establish/ensure effective ongoing communications.
• Workforce planning: When requested/appropriate, develop talent management and succession plans for current/future staffing needs.
• General: Perform duties per Penn Medicine/entity values, policies, procedures; other duties as assigned to support unit, department, entity, health system.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED (Required)
• 3+ years of relevant experience; prior management experience in a healthcare setting preferred (Required)
• Degrees may be considered in lieu of total experience (Required)
• Associate's Degree (Preferred)

Schedule

Full Time, per departmental needs.