Privacy Office Specialist (ONSITE at GHOB)

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Privacy Office

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY
The Privacy Office Specialist efficiently manages a portfolio of privacy-related inquiries, complaints, and concerns to ensure they are handled appropriately and in a timely manner. Develops and implements action plans for privacy investigations and provides written communications and reports to hospital department managers and Human Resources. Responsible for independently performing the full range of duties of moderate difficulty and complexity as outlined under the Essential Functions. Performs investigations with greater independence. Plans, performs and provides analysis, appraisal, information and recommendations concerns investigations and other privacy assurance activities. May identify problems, determine significance of, and solve problems. May assist with the development of new policies, procedures, and guidance.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Analyzes complaints against available facts; makes case determination in consultation with Privacy Assurance leadership. Documents case findings in a clear, logical, and meaningful fashion; writes case reports to involved parties to include, but not limited to, department managers and Human Resources representatives; prepares written summaries of high-risk cases for Privacy Assurance leadership.
• Assists patients in exercising their patient privacy rights, including amending their medical records, receiving an accounting of the disclosures of their medical records, requesting restrictions on access to their medical records and other civil rights related to patient privacy; communicates and/or meets directly with patients to assist with patient privacy rights or concerns; prepares formal correspondence to patients in compliance with applicable privacy rights requirements.
• Assists the Privacy Office with its proactive education program, to include but not limited to developing education materials and presenting training and educational sessions to clinical and non-clinical staff whenever necessary.
• Conducts interviews with clinical and non-clinical staff and gathers facts to develop the case file using methodologies appropriate to the case to include, but not limited to, patient or staff interviews, medical record reviews, system audit log reviews, internet searches, regulation searches, policy and procedure reviews, Exercises independent judgment to investigate, resolve, and document privacy complaints from patients, staff, faculty, and others including hotline complaints related to patient privacy.
• Assists Privacy Office management with federal, state, and other special investigations and audits. Prepares responses to regulatory inquiries. 
• Contributes to the achievement of Compliance Department goals and objectives and adheres to departmental policies, procedures, and standards; complies with governmental and accreditation regulations.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Customer Service (Advanced): A continuing focus on the needs and requirements of customers, anticipating their needs, remaining sensitive to customers while performing services for them, responsive to customer needs.
• Communication (Intermediate): Clearly, effectively and respectfully communicates to employees or customers.
• Problem Solving (Advanced): Uses critical thinking and process improvement i.e. coaches and mentors development of problem statement, describes current state, identifies root causes, creates future state, coaches and mentors development of solutions and action plans with a sustainability plan. Applies appropriate tools to address issues.
• Regulatory Compliance (Intermediate): Demonstrates knowledge of the appropriate rules and regulations and apply them in difficult, stressful and complex situations. Able to interpret and explain rules and regulations that are ambiguous or unclear. Directs others in interpreting rules and regulations on the job and trains others in them.

Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one’s own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees’ effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: – Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. – Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: – Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Certification in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) – Healthcare Compliance Association (HCCA)

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

3 years

Education:

Bachelor’s (Required)

Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/Disabled