Near Patient Nurse

About the role

General: The Near Patient Nurse will be considered the main executor of the Near Patient Program in country medical services as per the TRICARE contract.

Clinical: The role of the Near Patient Nurse is to provide medical case management and communication when a Prime or Prime Remote beneficiary is sought in the overseas Purchased Care Sector Provider (PCSP).  The Near Patient team will work collaboratively with the PCSP, in country US Military Facility/s and the Near Patient Team to manage the episode of care keeping the beneficiary at the center of all considerations.  Escalations to senior Near Patient Team members as determined by the medical situation will be required based on the clinical situation.

Governance: In addition, the Near Patient Medical Nurse will work in close association with the Clinical Quality Team and the organization underneath it on the quality and safety of providers up to and including auditing and credentialing TRICARE providers in a given area.  The Near Patient Nurse may assist in gathering information to include those contained within the CQMP. The Near Patient Nurse may be the main point of contact for clinical quality assessment and feedback for individual care episodes, ongoing quality assurance of providers and formal provider assessments.

Key Requirements

• Near Patient Nurse to be located in close proximity to key locations / MTF
• Working under a centralized duty roster system and where applicable, participate in on-call duties which can include weekends plus after hours
• Near Patient Nurse to remotely support other TRICARE regions as required such as project work and medical support as required
• Mobility requirement with less emphasis on home office duties
• Participate in routine MTF meeting/event attendance, regular contact with MTF personnel to discuss medical cases  
• Perform regular provider visits and inspections, contact with providers to obtain medical updates
• Ability to comfortably provide direct face to face plus telephonic beneficiary support
• Ability to work proficiently with TRICARE CRM system and provide SOAPe updates within the contractual/internal KPI’s
• Ability to manage calls from providers, MTF’s and beneficiaries
• Manage case load independently within the International SOS TRICARE policies and procedures for both prime and prime remote cases
• Escalate as required to senior in country Near Patient team members including team leads, physicians and or medical director to discuss/highlight case complexities/challenges
• Work together with Quality Assurance Teams to support Quality Assurance initiatives and case specific potential quality incident investigations and events. This will include compliments and complaints plus service recoveries

Key responsibilities

Medical Responsibilities:

• Provide comprehensive In-patient clinical case management for a Beneficiary. Completing status reports upon admission and according to contractual requirements or acuity whilst the patient remains admitted to the provider. These reports must be reported in American-English, clinically detailed and accurate according to International SOS standards.
• In the pursuit of medical updates, the Near Patient Nurse may visit the provider, or assist with calling providers or treating doctors for medical information for geographically remote cases as required. 
• Where the Near Patient Nurse feels care is suboptimal, not necessary, or potentially harmful to the beneficiary the Near Patient Nurse must escalate such matters to the Near Patient Physician Lead, Near Patient Regional Medical Director for discussion.
• Upon discharge, support when required with the Near Patient Medical Collection Team to obtain the discharge summary and hospital records from the provider, ensuring that the medical information correlates with the information obtained during admission and update the medical records accordingly.

Medical Network Liaison and Quality Assurance Responsibilities:

• Build positive and effective relationships with local network providers (medical and administrative representatives), and with local TRICARE Point of Contacts and members of US Health Units.
• Working with the in country Near Patient Physician Lead as a point of integration/coordination and continuity for the rotationally aligned forces with host nation providers
• Support the planning of trips with relevant internal and external stakeholders, to support on site provider visits and evaluations.
• Undertake evidenced accurate assessments and review of providers including the scope of medical capabilities, the safety and quality of care provided by these providers.

Job Profile

Academic/Vocational Qualifications

• Registered General Nurse or equivalent with minimum 3 years of experience with registration to practice in country of work
• Recognized qualification to minimum diploma level or equivalence in practice demonstrated through portfolio/CV
• Able to communicate in own language and proficiently in English

Experience

• Experience of working in accordance with a Code of Professional Conduct (knowledge of confidentiality etc.)
• Experience of Microsoft Office software
• Broad professional Experience of dealing with the public/patients/other health professionals
• Experience of multidisciplinary team working in the approach to care Management
• Understands the medical culture and organization in Host Nation Country
• Experience of working in a complex organization
• Experience across a range of in-hospital clinical experience

Knowledge/Skills

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills
• Computer literate
• Writes medical English clearly, succinctly, and correctly