Behavioral Care Advocate - Iowa Based Telecommuter - Full-time / Part-time

You're looking for something bigger for your career. How about inventing the future of health care? UnitedHealthcare is offering an innovative new standard for care management. We're going beyond counseling services and verified referrals to behavioral health programs integrated across the entire continuum of care. Our growth is fueling the need for highly qualified professionals to join our elite team. Bring your skills and talents to a role where you'll have the opportunity to make an impact on a huge scale. Join us and make your life's best work.(sm)As a Behavioral/Mental Health Care Advocate you will be responsible for coordination and collaboration with multiple internal and external partners including consumers and their families/caregivers, medical, behavioral health and clinical network teams. You will be working with behavioral health and substance abuse cases. You'll have a direct impact on the lives of our members as you recommend and manage the appropriate level of care throughout the entire treatment plan. What makes your clinical career greater with UnitedHealth Group? You can improve the health of others and help heal the health care system. You will work within an incredible team culture; a clinical and business collaboration that is learning and evolving every day. And, when you contribute, you'll open doors for yourself that simply do not exist in any other organization, anywhere.

This position is an Iowa based telecommuter role.
 

Primary Responsibilities:


Focus on initial inpatient admission for psychiatric and chemical dependency patients
Make patient assessments and determining appropriate levels of care
Obtain information from providers on outpatient requests for treatment
Determine if additional clinical treatment sessions are needed
Manage inpatient and outpatient mental health cases throughout the entire treatment plan
Administer benefits and review treatment plans
Coordinate benefits and transitions between various areas of care
Identify ways to add value to treatment plans and consulting with facility staff or outpatient care providers on those ideas
Participates as part of an interdisciplinary clinical team serving the member
Coordinates member behavioral health care needs with community based behavioral health service providers both telephonically and in-person when clinically indicated
Develops processes to coordinate behavioral health care between the member?s primary care provider (PCP) and behavioral health service provider
Coordinates behavioral health care with medically necessary services
Conducts trainings with the clinical team on behavioral health issues
Attends internal/external rounds and meetings as needed
Meets with the member in the community as appropriate by need and market
Collaboration with Community Based Behavioral Health Providers
The Behavioral Health Advocate will develop relationships with community based behavioral health service providers in order to develop procedures and communications that will foster coordination and collaboration of care for our members in the following ways:
Assisting the clinical team in monitoring and evaluating ongoing services for appropriateness, cost effectiveness, compliance and outcomes
Defining care coordination roles and collaboration following inpatient treatment
Assuring communication and coordination of the treatment plan between the PCP and behavioral health provider
Assisting the PCP in making appropriate referrals for behavioral health services
Conducting telephonic with behavioral health providers as clinically appropriate to coordinate patient care
Referring members to behavioral health providers based upon health assessments or as identified by UnitedHealthcare Community & State inpatient and outpatient case management staff
Addressing concerns regarding access to care appointments and any barriers to care encountered by our members
Defining the roles of engagement for common physical/psychological illnesses

Required Qualifications:

Licensed Master's Degree level clinician in: Psychology, Social Work, Counseling or Marriage & Family Counseling OR a Licensed Ph.D. or Licensed Psy.D. Psychologist, with 2+ years of behavioral health experience
Registered Nurses (RN) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) with 3 years of RECENT psychiatric nursing experience will also be considered
Clinical Licensure must be current and unrestricted for the State of Iowa
Proficient Microsoft skills (Word, Excel, Outlook)
Access to high speed internet services
Dedicated work space from home
Preferred Qualifications:

Inpatient experience
Dual diagnosis experience with mental health and substance abuse
Experience working in an environment that required coordination of benefits and utilization of multiple groups and resources for patients
Careers with Optum. Here's the idea. We built an entire organization around one giant objective; make the health system work better for everyone. So when it comes to how we use the world's large accumulation of health-related information, or guide health and lifestyle choices or manage pharmacy benefits for millions, our first goal is to leap beyond the status quo and uncover new ways to serve. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, brings together some of the greatest minds and most advanced ideas on where health care has to go in order to reach its fullest potential. For you, that means working on high performance teams against sophisticated challenges that matter. Optum, incredible ideas in one incredible company and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.SM
Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.



Job Keywords: LISW, LMFT, LMHC, NP, RN, Nurse, Psychologist, Therapist, Social Worker, Counselor, Optum, United Health Group, Telecommute, Work from home