Behavioral Health Coordinator

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Respond to in-clinic or outside referrals for behavioral health, psychiatric and substance abuse services as clinically indicated and based on the urgency of the need.
• Screen and triage patients for common mental health and substance abuse disorders. Facilitate patient engagement and connection with the appropriate level of follow-up care.
• Schedule and confirm appointments for behavioral health clinicians and group events. Assure full scheduling of behavioral health specialists to provide for maximum productivity.
• Facilitate referral linkage for clinically indicated services inside and outside of the organization, including: behavioral health services, primary care, psychiatry, mental health specialty care, substance abuse treatment, housing, financial, food, vocational rehabilitation, and other services.
• Provide patient education about common mental health and substance abuse disorders and the available treatment options. This includes responding to warm handoffs in the clinic setting.
• Carefully coordinate patient care with the patient’s medical, dental and mental health providers.
• Systematically track referrals and monitor patient progress (in person or by telephone) for changes in clinical symptoms, treatment side effects or complications. Track patient follow-up and clinical outcomes using referral tracking reports and patient registries. Document in-person and telephone encounters in the registry and use the system to identify and re-engage patients.
• Coordinate the care of patients referred through SBIRT based on the level of care defined in the supporting document. Maintain a registry of substance abuse patients, including tracking linkage to services. Maintain contact with patients in the registry at the clinic and by phone, adjusting interventions based on patient’s level of engagement in the “stages of change model.”
• Aid in communication between Medically Assisted Treatment and pain management team members and patients.
• Attend weekly internal Behavioral Health case consultations.

Qualifications And Education Requirements

• Education: AA or equivalent experience.
• Experience: Prior experience in a medical care setting or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Training/experience in scheduling and documenting in Electronic Health Records;
• Skills in systematically following a daily schedule of tracking, monitoring and following up on patient status.
• Knowledge of: Medical terminology; use of standard software such as Windows, Word and Excel.
• Ability to: Speak fluent Spanish as well as English; follow verbal and written instructions; communicate effectively; interact diplomatically with staff, patients, and other healthcare providers; Proficient in Word and Excel.