Job Description

The PERINATAL DATA SPECIALIST reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Conducts interviews with parents of all live births, including early neonatal deaths, to obtain demographic information for birth certificate creation.
• Abstracts extensive medical information from patient records according to guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
• Provides explanation to patients and families regarding the Birth Certificate, Social Security Enumeration at Birth, Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, and Genetic Testing programs.
• Accurately completes detailed documentation for above programs and submits to IDPH within required timeframe.
• Consults with Nursing and Social Work staff in cases of medical/social crises to facilitate obtaining information from parents with minimal disruption.
• Identifies infants having any of the medical conditions which require completion of an APORs report (Adverse Pregnancy Outcome Report) to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
• Reviews the medical record of any discharged infant assigned one of the more than 1250 qualifying diagnosis codes to confirm or rule out the presence of these abnormal conditions.
• Creates reports in the IDPH APORS database by the 7th day after discharge.
• Arranges notification for each family about their child's qualification for the program and expected contact from the public health department.
• Maintains a comprehensive list of reportable conditions, consulting with the IDPH staff to clarify possible conditions and update regularly as new information becomes available.
• Liaises with medical and nursing staff to provide education, answer questions, and encourage participation.
• Fields questions from Public Health nursing staff in the field as well as parents regarding referrals of their infant.
• Responsible for the follow-up of abnormal Newborn Metabolic Screening laboratory results until the necessary retesting and/or referrals are made.
• Clarifies and confirms test results and treatment recommendations with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
• Reviews the child's chart for status of previous results, medical history of the child, and the identification of the responsible pediatrician.
• Contacts the pediatrician to relay the results and recommendations verbally and via fax to ensure that the appropriate follow-up care is administered.
• Documents all communication for each result.
• Conducts chart reviews on all patients with diagnosis codes for induced termination of pregnancy and related complications and completes the appropriate report whenever necessary.
• Provides support to nursing staff, physicians, and Referred Lab personnel for questions regarding testing protocols, results, and recommendations.
• Acts as liaison between IDPH and Prentice NICU staff for progress reports on babies currently hospitalized at Prentice Hospital.
• Maintains electronic and paper logs of abnormal metabolic results until the cases are closed and ready for archiving.
• Completes other reports and projects requiring advanced computer and medical terminology skills.
• Provides customer service, in person and over the telephone, for questions and problems relating to the above programs.
• Prepares, scans, and performs QA reviews for all department documents being archived.

AA/EOE.

Qualifications

REQUIRED:

• RHIT credential and Associate's Degree or higher.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in a hospital or medical office environment focusing on medical billing, data abstraction, transcription, etc.
• Ability to work without supervision and make decisions independently.
• Demonstration of extensive knowledge of medical terminology.
• Strong customer service skills with heavy attention to detail.
• Demonstrated skill at multitasking.
• Ability to interact in an assertive and professional manner with a variety of people in stressful situations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills along with analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and time management skills.
• Strong computer experience with Microsoft applications.
• Work the day shift Sunday through Thursday or Tuesday through Saturday depending on current departmental needs.

PREFERRED:

• Bachelor's degree.
• Bilingual (Spanish) is a plus.

Additional Information Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.