PACE Director, Associate Chief Medical Officer

1601 Precision Park Ln, San Diego, CA 92173, USA Req #6496

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Position Summary:

The Program of All Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) Associate Chief Medical Officer (ACMO) serves as the senior Medical Director for San Diego PACE and is responsible for the delivery of participant care, clinical outcomes, and the implementation, as well as oversight, of the Quality Improvement Program. The ACMO serves as the lead in the design of the medical and clinical components for San Diego PACE and as a liaison to the medical community on behalf of San Diego PACE. As a physician member of the San Diego PACE team, the PACE ACMO must meet all federal and state licensing laws, certification, and regulations necessary. The PACE ACMO directly manages and leads a team of Site Medical Directors and serves as a consultant and resource to all PACE Primary Care Physicians, Contract Physicians, and Nurse Practitioners. The PACE ACMO also interfaces and collaborates with specialist physicians in the PACE Provider Network.

Note: All employees responsible for patient care must be competent in the assessment, treatment, and age-related care of geriatric patients. Consequently, employees must be competent in the interpretation of a patient’s self-report or behavior, and this information must be interpreted with an understanding of the cognitive, physical, emotional/psycho­logical and chronological maturation process. The treatment of patients should be individualized and reflect an under­standing of the developmental needs and range of treatment needs for each patient.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :

QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

• Provides leadership in quality improvement programs through participation on the Quality-of-Care Committee.
• Understands the regulations related to the Quality Improvement Program and PACE and the medical director’s role.
• Proactively develops a collaborative working relationship with the PACE Director of Quality and contributes to the development of the PACE Quality Improvement Program.
• Oversees the delivery of participant care (resources), clinical outcomes, performance improvement and Utilization Management (UM) within PACE.
• Designs and conducts quality projects and keeps abreast of federal Outcomes-Based Quality Improvement initiatives.
• Conducts clinical research and quality studies related to San Diego PACE participants and services.
• Participates in Quality Improvement Committee meetings.
• Responsible for the implementation, as well as oversight, of the quality improvement program.

PACE CONTINUUM OF CARE

• Defines, develops, and implements the system of 24-hour medical coverage for San Diego PACE.
• Works with administrative leaders in the PACE Organization to ensure that the contracts with network providers are fair, clinically appropriate, and financially prudent.
• Assembles a panel of network specialist consultants while meeting key regulatory, clinical, and administrative PACE protocols.
• Liaisons with physician groups, specialists, and hospitals to represent San Diego PACE, thereby strengthening positive provider relationships and enhancing referrals.
• Plays a critical role in educating the medical and aging communities about the role of PACE in the long-term care continuum.
• Interfaces with contracted medical providers when quality concerns arise.
• Participates in contract negotiations with medical providers.
• Promotes the mission and goals of San Diego PACE in the neighborhood, in the community, to referral and reg­ulatory agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Acts as liaison with San Diego County physicians.
• Plays a vital collaborative role in marketing, intake, and enrollment of PACE enrollees.

PACE CARE DELIVERY/INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM

• Provides input into cost-effective clinical practices.
• Integrates Frail & End-of-Life Care Clinical Glidepath Tools (qty. 24) and PACE Best Clinical Practices (CHF, COPD, Diabetes, etc.) into ongoing primary care service and support of PACE enrollees.
• Provides orientation, education and on-going training of new PCP and Nurse Practitioner (NP) hires.
• Defines the form of the NP collaborative practice arrangement in the PACE Organization to include NP scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and degree of autonomy.
• Consults on the development of clinical policies and procedures.
• Coordinates the performance appraisal of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and consulting pharmacists.
• Provides medical consultation to staff.
• Develops policies and procedures for patient care based on evidence-based medicine protocols and best practices in geriatric medicine.
• Responsible for the delivery of PACE participant care and clinical outcomes.
• Evaluates and implements clinical geriatric practice guidelines based on current literature and shared state-of-the-art clinical information with the San Diego PACE Interdisciplinary Team.
• Participates in Interdisciplinary Team meetings.
• Serves as a member of the San Diego PACE Senior Leadership Team.
• Provides direct medical care to PACE participants when the San Diego PACE Team physician is unavailable.
• Oversees the palliative and end-of-life dimensions of PACE care and support to include achievement of the best possible quality of life through relief of suffering, control of symptoms, and restoration of functional capacity while remaining sensitive to PACE enrollee personal, cultural, and religious values, beliefs, and practices.
• Supervises physicians and other primary care professionals employed by San Diego PACE.
• Provides internal consultation to the Primary Care Physician(s) and Nurse Practitioner(s), through case review and analysis of aggregate data.
• Coordinates and ensures coverage of the after-hours on-call system.

PACE CLINICAL COMPLIANCE

• Serves as a physician liaison to state and federal agen­cies, as requested.
• Ensures compliance with PACE provider regulations as they pertain to medical/clinical and geriatric components of care.
• Oversees the clinical, compliance and documentation dimensions of the PACE comprehensive Medical Record system and process to include evaluating, creating, revising the components of the medical record.
• Ensures optimal design of the PACE Medical Record system to address Interdisciplinary Team communications and interventions, optimal diagnostic coding and capture for risk-adjusted HCC coding, clear and comprehensive documentation for Medico-Legal risks, and establishment/oversight of documentation standards for QAPI and research initiatives.
• Participates in the Participants’ complaint and grievance procedures when the complaint or grievance involves medical or clinical care.
• Works in conjunction with other PACE leaders to both guide and assist the successful collection submission and analysis of diagnostic risk adjustment data (HCC Coding diagnoses), Health Plan Management System (HPMS) data, DATAPACE2 (DP2) data, PACE Data Analysis Center (PDAC) data.
• Reviews HCC/Demographic File, for nuances in code selection that greatly affect the assignment of HCCs and corresponding risk coefficients to improve the specificity of data and to ensure that the individual capitation payments for participants maximally reflect the true clinical risk and disease burden.
• Chairs the Medical Advisory Committee and the Ethics Committee, advising to the San Diego PACE Board of Directors.
• Administers the Medical Director’s role in a manner consistent with the PACE program’s core values and mission.
• Monitors Unusual Occurrence reports to ensure the continued health/safety of participants.
• Involved in investigating all Level Two Events and translating findings into opportunities to improve clinical care.
• Develops policies and procedures for appointment of medical staff, assignment, and review of clinical privileges.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN (MEDICATION MANAGEMENT)

• Collaborating with the PACE Manager of Clinical Pharmacy, oversees the clinical aspects of the PACE Medication Management Process to include prescriptions and dispensing and administration of medications.
• Design PACE prescription criteria which address PACE participant clinical risk and cost factors such as PACE participant comorbidities, poly-pharmacy risks, limited life expectancy, frailty factors, and vulnerability to adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
• Work closely with Consulting Pharmacist to monitor PACE pharmacy utilization and medication prescribing patterns to avoid ADRs and excessive polypharmacy risks and costs.
• Works closely with the Consulting Pharmacist to pinpoint potential drug-drug interactions, drug-disease interactions, appropriateness of medications and cost-effective alternatives for PACE enrollees.
• Responsible for development, oversight, and compliance of the San Diego PACE Drug Management Program

PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME

• Endeavors to sponsor and promote the design, organization, and operation of the PACE primary care clinic as a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Model of Care and advanced primary care practice setting.
• Defines the scope of primary care practice and clinical activities in the PCMH.
• Champions developments, improvements, and operation of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system for the PACE Primary Care Clinic (PCMH) and PACE eldercare continuum of care (PACE Site, provider network and senior patient home and long-term care settings).
• Promotes and implements in-home electronic technology monitoring of PACE beneficiaries (telehealth, vital signs monitoring, remote patient monitoring, personal emergency response, elderly fall detection, video/audio surveillance of in-home caregivers and PACE participants).

ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides in-service education to San Diego PACE staff, as requested.
• Sustains an organizational commitment to diversity of staff and nurturing the skills needed to serve a diverse population.
• Promotes and oversees educational rotations for community area medical students, residents and fellows, nursing students and nurse practitioners, social workers, pharmacists, public health students, and various rehabilitative specialists.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Pass a criminal background which will verify that the candidate is: not excluded from participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs; has not been convicted of criminal offenses related to their involvement in Medicaid, Medicare, other health insurance or health care programs, or social services programs under title XX of the Act; and have not been convicted of physical, sexual, drug or alcohol abuse.

Education

• M.D. degree and licensure to practice medicine and surgery in the State of California. Board certified in internal medicine or family practice.
• Certificate of added qualification in geriatrics and/or experience in the care of the chronically ill. Fellowship in Geriatrics preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of three years in medical practice for the chronic care geriatric population.
• Demonstrates skills in medical administration and/or previous experience as a Medical Director.
• Experience working with an interdisciplinary team and performing comprehensive geriatric assessments preferred. Knowledge of and experience with chronic care coordination also preferred.
• A record of forming and implementing a vision for an organization.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Current knowledge of chronic care/geriatric issues and best practices.
• Solid “fit” with the PACE culture and mission; while Geriatric training and experience are helpful, the “fit” with the culture and mission of PACE is more important.
• Skill to build strong working relationships with physicians and other health care providers. Good judgment, problem-solving and cognitive skills.
• Ability to process information accurately and in a timely manner.
• Ability to coordinate and facilitate teamwork and interdisciplinary groups.
• Good public communication skills.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities.
• Enthusiasm for geriatric medicine and taking care of the chronically ill.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• The primary contacts for the Medical Director are the PACE Program Director, San Ysidro Health Chief Medical Officer, Primary Care Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and other members of the San Diego PACE Leadership Team.
• External contacts include extensive interaction with representatives of the medical community, long term care providers and assisted living providers. In addition, the Medical Director may interface with the community, state, and federal social service, regulatory and other agencies, especially during on-site surveys.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES & STANDARDS

• Supervises all medical/paramedical services, ensuring San Diego PACE clinical staff achieve the best clinical outcomes possible for all participants. (20%)
• Achieves Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) objectives and goals. (10%)
• Attains Medication Management goals and objectives. (10%)
• Responsible for oversight of the quality improvement program (QI), including, along with the QI Coordinator and Manager, development of the yearly QAPI Plan, quarterly QI reports and year-end evaluation. Attends meetings with San Diego PACE QI Committee and San Diego PACE Board, as scheduled. Actively participates in San Diego PACE QI meetings. Uses data to compare San Diego PACE to other PACE sites, and internal data to demonstrate improvement. (20%)
• Maintains and improves medical policies/standards and protocols based on latest evidence-based medicine protocols for PACE seniors and best clinical practices for PACE older adults. (10%)
• Develops/implements system of peer review. Develops, in conjunction with the manager, maintains and implements clinic staff job descriptions. Provides staff in-service training as needed. Makes recommendations for hiring/disciplining of PACE clinical staff. (10%)
• Enhances PACE Continuum by defining, developing, and implementing the system of 24-hour medical coverage for San Diego PACE. Works with administrative leaders in the PACE Organization to ensure that the contracts with network providers are fair, clinically appropriate, and financially prudent. Assembles a panel of network specialist consultants while meeting key regulatory, clinical, and administrative PACE protocols. (15%)
• Provides information about San Diego PACE to interested individuals and groups, avoiding prohibited marketing practices as described in the PACE regulations. (5%)

About Us San Ysidro Health is a Federally Qualified Health Care organization committed to providing high quality, compassionate, accessible and affordable healthcare services for the entire family. The organization was founded by seven women in search of medical services for their families and community. Almost 50 years later, San Ysidro Health now provides innovative care to over 108,000 patients through a vast and integrated network of 47 program sites across the county. San Ysidro Health could not serve our patients without the dedication of our passionate and hardworking employees. Apply today and become a part of our mission-driven team! San Ysidro Health has a long-standing commitment to equal employment opportunity for all applicants for employment. Employment decisions including, but not limited to, those such as employee selection, performance evaluation, administration of benefits, working conditions, employee programs, transfers, position changes, training, disciplinary action, compensation, and separations are made without regard to race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming), creed, national origin, nationality, citizenship status, domestic partnership status, ancestry, gender, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, civil union status, family status, age, mental or physical disability (including AIDS or HIV-related status), atypical heredity cellular or blood trait of an individual, genetic information or refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available the results of a genetic test, military status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.