Job responsibilities
Overseas Patients
To be Trust lead for overseas patient management, attending external meetings as required and being the named contact for external bodies.
Ensure that members of the Trust are aware of the Overseas Visitors Policy and understand their roles and responsibilities. To be the lead for any training requirements relating to Overseas Visitors for the Trust staff and Community Hospitals as a whole.
To conduct training/create awareness for front line staff and primary care colleagues with regards to the identification and procedures relating to private and overseas patients.
Lead the development of all financial policies and processes for Overseas Visitors to ensure they are effective, up to date and implemented consistently within the clinical divisions.
Ensure all overseas income due to the Trust is recorded and records are maintained adequately to allow ad hoc audits to take place if necessary.
When treatment is provided under EEC/EU Bilateral Healthcare arrangements ensure that this is reported through the CCGs. When other European patients arrive in the UK to identify these patients and then use the portal to claim money back from their respective countries by completing the information electronically and ensuring we have recorded the details of their EHIC.
Conduct interviews with overseas patients and their families, to categorise their status with the overseas regulations and explain the implication of the decision to the patient and family and deal with any contentious decisions.
Work autonomously, making decisions around patients entitlement to receive free NHS healthcare, or not using national guidance. This can create circumstance where patients/family members can become distressed, emotional or aggressive.
Liaise with the Home Office and border forces Visa section/Immigration Department to ascertain resident/visitor status informing them where overstays have occurred.
Work with coders on the calculation and implementation of appropriate prices for the overseas patients treatment and also implement a system where by plan admission self-payer overseas visitors patient charges are paid in advance of their treatment, so far as this is practically possible.
Liaise with the overseas patients insurance companies in order to obtain a guarantee of payment.
Responsible for the reduction in outstanding debts owed to the Trust from Overseas and Private Patients.
When all methods have been exhausted and the patient is insisting that they cannot pay for their treatment, the post holder will have to negotiate an instalment plan.
Propose any accounts for write offs when debt is unrecoverable after all debt collection methods have been exhausted and a decision is made that it is not worth pursing with legal action.
Accurately complete the monthly report to the Department of Health any outstanding unpaid Overseas invoices for £500 or above which are over three months old.
Support the investigating and responding to complaints received by the Trust that relates to private/overseas patients and cashiers department. To evaluates issues that may arise from this and implement improvements where appropriate.
Provide information under FOI (Freedom of Information) requests.
Provide expert advice on the DHSC guidance on Overseas Charging Regulations, which is highly complex and has a direct impact on the lives of patients and the treatment they can receive as well as to Trust finances. This will include applying the guidance to specific patient situations which can be of a traumatic and upsetting nature. To provide expert advice and support to Trust staff on all Overseas Visitors and migrant issues.
Support front line staff in obtaining European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) details in from patients order to validate charge exempt, to upload such details onto national database and claim funding generated by this through the DHSC EHIC Incentive Scheme Private Patients.
Negotiate and produce private patient tariffs in consultation with all insurance companies on an annual basis and ensure negotiations over these tariffs are concluded satisfactorily.
Attend regular Private Patient Managers meetings across the South West as a representative of the Trust and to feedback relevant information to staff in the Trust and to make changes to our own processes.
Liaise and act as an intermediary with insurance companies on behalf of any private patient regarding any queries/problems and to negotiate terms with insurance companies/consultants/patients etc for admissions.
Develop and implement the Trust financial policy for Private Patients, in conjunction with Trust/Operational Managers and HR, to ensure that all staff are fully conversant with the Private Patients Policy.
Have an understanding at all times of the level of debt through the assimilation of financial income data related to Private Patients services and to ensure all financial matters are dealt with promptly and efficiently.
Propose any accounts for write offs when debt is unrecoverable after all debt collection methods have been exhausted and a decision is made that it is not worth pursing with legal.
Cashiers Department
Oversee work load, training development requirements as well as ensuring annual/sickness cover and matters of HR disciplinary/sickness. Also carry out their appraisals setting appropriate objectives. Making sure the function of the Cashiers Department runs in accordance with procedure and Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health legislation.
Manage the daily work schedule and delegate effectively to maintain efficiency, by prioritising urgent and non-urgent work.
Manage the return of property to deceased relatives/solicitors. This can result in a distressing, emotional and aggressive response, if the response is not what they want to hear.
Ensure that internal control procedures are adhered to at all time, including office security. Where changes are identified through internal audit, or other means, ensure that recommendations are implemented and procedure notes are amended accordingly.
