The Office of Patient / Family Relations liaises between patients, families and the Institute in acknowledging and responding to patient/family concerns and requests in a compassionate, supportive manner.  The Patient / Family Relations (P/FR) Coordinator serves as an integral member of the Quality and Patient Safety Department (QPS), participating in various aspects of patient advocacy, which includes helping to personalize and humanize the hospital experience. 

The Patient/Family Relations (P/FR) Coordinator supports the Patient / Family Relations Office at the Institute, including all outpatient and inpatient locations, by providing adult and pediatric patient complaint and grievance intake, triage, and data entry to patients/families who have expressed a concern, complaint, grievance, question and / or a request regarding care, treatment or services at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). In addition, they provide support for simple case management, the PFR database, the Service Recovery program, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) / the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), and other administrative functions.  He/she engages in responding to patient or staff requests regarding care, treatment or services, as well as acknowledging complimentary feedback received from patients and families. 

Patient / Family / Staff Communications

• Shares responsibility for the centralized coverage of P/FR Office phone, pager, and email during operational hours
• Responds to general patient, family, staff queries / feedback
• Triages patient, family, and staff calls and queries to the appropriate P/FR staff or Institute Department
• Supports patients and families through challenging conversation to gain the essential details about the concerns during the triage process
• Assures P/FR staff are immediately contacted for urgent patient/family needs and responds to urgent patient/family needs as requested
• Completes initial documentation related to patient/family/staff encounters to gather pertinent information
• Enters case summary and related information into the P/FR database

Complaint / Grievance Management

• Manages simple cases such as requests for information or referrals
• Assists with management/documentation of complaint and grievance cases, as directed
• Inputs data timely to ensure regulatory requirements are met
• Supports Grievance Committee by preparing the agenda, case information, data/graphs, and takes meeting minutes.
  Patient/Family Relations Program
• Assists in maintaining the Service Recovery Program inventory and log
• Tracks Service Recoveries in the PFR database
• Assists with retrieval and management of lost belongings and coordinates the return of found items
• Assists with management of patient/family compliments, to include contacting the sender to acknowledge receipt of the commendation and notifying the staff/leadership of the complimentary feedback
• Supports Patient Experience initiatives as directed
• Interacts with Institute staff and departments, such as but not limited to Social Work, Nursing, Psychosocial Oncology & Palliative Care, Volunteer Services, Medical, Surgical and Pediatric Oncology
• Responds to requests for information related to or witnessing Advance Directives (e.g., Healthcare Proxy)
• Assists in the coordination of PFR activities, education, and training programs
• Manages patient / staff requests for Notary Public Services

Administrative support to Patient/Family Relations Office

• Assists with the management of Office’s databases and enters and updates data regarding incoming cases
• Schedules meetings
• Ensures follow-up on requests for information
• Takes minutes during meetings, as required
• Maintains Service Recovery records
• Maintains PFR Office Reference binder
• Orders supplies as needed

Supports Patient/Family Relations Programs

• Supports regionalized Service Recovery initiative
• Supports Mystery Observation / Real-time Patient Feedback Program
  • Coordinates Volunteer Observers/Rounders
  • Performs data entry and report generation
• Assists customers with the appropriate coordination of requested support services and activities and/or redirects as appropriate.
• Interacts with other hospital departments, such as Nursing, Care Coordination and Volunteer Services, Interpreter Services on a daily basis.

• All other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma required; Bachelor’s degree preferred 
• 1-2 years healthcare experience demonstrating solid customer service, writing and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent telephone and person-to-person skills and ability to provide immediate assistance to a wide range of customers with varying needs.
• Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills with multi-disciplinary DFCI staff. 
• Ability to recognize need to utilize pathways of escalation in real-time when challenging situations arise. 
• Ability to demonstrate flexibility when needed. 
• Experience and ability to manage multiple tasks and functions at the same time.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications with ability to learn new computer applications
• Ability to develop proficiency in P/FR database applications.

• Ability to use all Institute systems as required
• Maintains knowledge of Institute policies and procedures
• Awareness of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Conditions of Participation regulations regarding patient rights
• Solid listening, interpersonal, and customer service skills
• Ability to organize and prioritize tasks/duties
• Ability to provide immediate assistance to a wide range of customers with varying needs
• Flexibility to tolerate interruptions
• Sensitivity to multicultural, cultural, racial, economic and gender diversity
• Interest in patient advocacy, health care quality, non-discrimination, inclusion and patient safety

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other groups as protected by law.