The University of Maryland Medical System is a 14-hospital system with academic, community and specialty medical services reaching every part of Maryland and beyond. UMMS is a national and regional referral center for trauma, cancer care, Neurocare, cardiac care, women’s and children’s health and physical rehabilitation. UMMS is the fourth largest private employer in the Baltimore metropolitan area and one of the top 20 employers in the state of Maryland. No organization will give you the clinical variety, the support, or the opportunities for professional growth that you’ll enjoy as a member of our team.

General Summary

Under limited supervision, and with the latitude for initiative and independent judgment, performs, coordinates, and manages the creation and outsourcing of billing analysis in accordance with the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) regulations and the Clinical Trial Policy for all clinical trials. The billing analysis must be compliant with the Medicare billing rules.

This position also serves as liaison with the investigators, research teams, healthcare providers, budgeting and contracting offices at UMMS and UMB, and in coordination with departmental clinical trial management processes. This position works with various systems including Epic and HPM Explorer for the purpose of segregating charges to ensure compliant billing for research services as well as providing pricing for budgeting purposes.

Principal Responsibilities and Tasks

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. These are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by personnel so classified.

• Creates coverage analysis grids and analyzes the performance of the actual coverage analysis.
• Performs basic and complex billing and budget analysis in accordance with CMS regulations for all clinical trials performed at UMMS affiliates and FPI practice offices and clinics.
• Applies CMS regulations, FDA guidance, and ethical policies when performing coverage analysis.
• Develops the coverage analysis including reviewing each potentially billable item within the clinical trial and citing specific resources for justification of the appropriate designations.
• Applies the appropriate CDM and/or CPT codes for potentially billable items in the coverage analysis in order to assist in the management of claims review, as well as identifying items that are to be billed to the sponsor via the budgeting and contract teams at the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at University of Baltimore (UMB).
• Collaborates with research teams in performing the coverage analysis, as well as facilitating the clinical trial management process involving UMB, UMMS, and FPI.
• Researches and applies regulations and law related to Medicare regulations, OIG regulations, FDA guidance, and related compliance documents using various resources including computer search modalities.
• Synchronizes the final coverage analysis with appropriate final study documents.
• Triages coverage analysis requests to our coverage analysis vendor when applicable. Acts as the intermediary between the vendor and the study teams during coverage analysis creation, tracks progress, and reports results.
• Researches and applies policies, guidance and guidelines from various sources including federal, state, UMMS and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB).
• Responsible for the dissemination of relevant documents and information to various parties.
• Serves as liaison and contact with the clinical research teams and healthcare providers.
• Segregates charges in Epic by distinguishing research charges billed to the study versus those research charges that can be billed to insurance.
• Reviews and resolves invoice discrepancies with the Central Billing Office and the study teams,
• Creates Epic RSH Records and Fee Schedules for each research study.
• Performs monthly coverage analysis and charge segregation audits to ensure ongoing compliance.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Medical Coding, Auditing, Finance, Accounting, Nursing, or a related field required.
• Four (4) years of clinical research experience required. Additional experience may be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis for up to four (4) years.
• Two (2) years of additional experience working with developing coverage analysis for clinical trials as well as performing charge segregation for research participants.
• Certification in Healthcare Research Compliance or Epic preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of principles and practices pertaining to developing and administering a clinical trial in compliance with sponsor, federal, state, UMMS and University of Maryland Baltimore regulations.
• Demonstrated skill tracking clinical and corporate contracts using electronic administration software such as Grant.gov, CICERO, OnCore, Epic, etc.
• Skill in cost/financial accounting and clinical trial management software.
• Expert knowledge of spreadsheets (i.e. Microsoft Excel), databases (i.e., DBASE, Microsoft Access), word processing programs (i.e., Microsoft Word), and graphic/specialty and other finance-related software programs.
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills are necessary in dealing with a variety of healthcare and finance professionals including senior management staff.
• Ability to assess and evaluate complex financial data via use of computer analysis.
• Proficient organization and problem-solving skills are required to develop/implement efficient work processes. Ability to work effectively in a stressful work environment. Ability to work independently in a matrix work environment.
• Maintains familiarity with current regulations involved with compliant billing practices.

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