Location: Chicago, Illinois

Business Unit: Rush Medical Center

Hospital: Rush University Medical Center

Department: Patient Access

Work Type: Full Time (Total FTE between 0. 9 and 1. 0)

Shift: Shift 1

Work Schedule: 8 Hr (8:30:00 AM - 5:00:00 PM)

Rush offers exceptional rewards and benefits learn more at our Rush benefits page (https://www.rush.edu/rush-careers/employee-benefits).

Pay Range: $63.10 - $106.01 per hour
Rush salaries are determined by many factors including, but not limited to, education, job-related experience and skills, as well as internal equity and industry specific market data. The pay range for each role reflects Rush’s anticipated wage or salary reasonably expected to be offered for the position. Offers may vary depending on the circumstances of each case.

Summary:
The System Director, Patient Access provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all patient registration and front-end access functions across the health system. This role ensures that patient arrival, demographic validation, and registration workflows are efficient, accurate, and standardized.
The System Director acts as the primary guardian of EMTALA compliance and ensures the accurate capture of complex Insurance and Governmental Payer data. This leader is responsible for the health of front-end workqueues, the development of departmental policies, and the creation of a high-performance culture through a structured onboarding pathway to ensure staff retention and operational excellence.

Other information:
Required Job Qualifications:
•Education: Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, Business, Finance, or a related field.
•Experience: Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in revenue cycle operations, overseeing patient access in a large, multi-site integrated health system.
•Payer Knowledge: Expert-level understanding of Governmental (Medicare/Medicaid) and Commercial Insurance plans, including COB, MSP, and authorization triggers.
•Regulatory Expertise: Deep knowledge of EMTALA, NCD/LCD policies, ABN/IMM/MOON requirements, and CMS price transparency regulations.
•Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of Experian RTE and Epic ADT/Prelude.
Preferred Job Qualifications:
•Education: Master’s degree (MBA, MHA, or equivalent).
•Certification: Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM).
•Methodology: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification, with a focus on process optimization and waste reduction in a healthcare setting.
•Systems: Advanced proficiency with Epic Grand Central/ADT and SlicerDicer for data-driven reporting.
Physical Demands:
•Frequent use of computers and telephone.
•Occasional travel between system sites required.
•Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Core Competencies:
•Strategic Leadership: Focuses on long-term staff development, structured onboarding, and retention strategies to build a stable, high-performing team in a "Just Culture" environment.
•Operational Excellence: Utilizes Lean Six Sigma principles to standardize complex workflows, eliminate operational waste, and break down silos across multiple campuses.
•Regulatory & Payer Mastery: Ensures 100% accuracy in insurance capture and strict federal compliance with EMTALA, CMS regulations, and medical necessity protocols (NCD/LCD/ABN).
•Governance & Standards: Excellence in the development, writing, and system-wide implementation of standardized policies and procedures that are audit-ready and scalable.
•Analytical Thinking: Leverages data-driven tools (e.g., SlicerDicer, WQ dashboards) to identify root causes of denials and implement sustainable, data-backed solutions.
•Communication & Influence: Effectively partners with clinical leadership, finance, and administrative stakeholders to drive change management and enhance the patient experience orientation.
Disclaimer:
The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements.

Responsibilities:
1.Operational Leadership: Directs daily operations for system-wide registration services, including Emergency Department (ED) access, Inpatient admissions, and Ambulatory check-in across all system sites.
2.Payer Strategy & Data Integrity: Oversees the accurate identification and entry of all Insurance and Governmental Plans (Medicare, Medicaid, Managed Care, Commercial, etc.); ensures staff are trained on Coordination of Benefits (COB) and Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) rules to minimize billing rejections.
3.EMTALA Compliance: Serves as the subject matter expert for EMTALA regulations; ensures all front-end staff prioritize Medical Screening Exams (MSE) over financial discussions in emergency settings.
4.Policy & Procedure Development: Oversees the creation and implementation of comprehensive Policies and Procedures (P&Ps); ensures all workflows are documented, audit-ready, and aligned with "Just Culture" principles.
5.Onboarding & Workforce Development: Designs and manages a clear, structured Pathway to Onboarding for all new hires; ensures training programs effectively transition recruits into high-performing team members to reduce turnover.
6.Regulatory Documentation: Monitors strict compliance with the General Agreement to Health Care Treatment, Important Message from Medicare (IMM), and Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON).
7.Point-of-Service (POS) Collections & Estimates: Oversees the strategy for POS collections; ensures staff are proficient in running accurate patient estimates and setting up payment plans while adhering to regulatory restrictions.
8.Medical Necessity & Denial Prevention: Ensures departmental proficiency in identifying services impacted by NCDs/LCDs and oversees the compliant issuance of ABNs to prevent medical necessity denials.
9.Workqueue & DNB Management: Oversees departmental Workqueues (WQs) and Discharged Not Billed (DNB) reports daily to ensure timely error resolution and accelerated revenue capture.
10.Denial Root Cause Analysis: Collaborates with the System Director, Financial Clearance to perform root-cause analysis on front-end denials and implement permanent process fixes using continuous improvement methodologies.

Rush is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.