Job Description

The Staff Physician provides direct patient care in an effort to ensure that patient health care needs are met at all times.

1. Patient Care
   1. Provides direct patient care, develops treatment plans, and assesses patient's response to treatment while ensuring that all health care services provided are of the highest quality.
   2. Participates in the coordination of a 24 hour care delivery system, including night and weekend on call responsibilities in conjunction with other medical staff members of PACE.
2. Clinical Care for Participants
   1. Performs and documents comprehensive history and physicals on new referrals.
   2. Performs and documents interval history and physicals on established participants; completed every 6 months or as indicated.
   3. Participates in the development and revision of the participants Plan of Care with the interdisciplinary team. Integrates the primary care treatment plan into the overall plan of care developed by the interdisciplinary team. Interacts with other team members to meet emergent and acute needs of participants.
   4. Discusses and coordinates ongoing care with PACE Participants (and their family/caregivers when indicated), including development of Advance Care Plan.
3. Collaboration and Partnership
   1. Coordinates admission of participants to the hospital with hospital medicine service. Provides consultative management of hospitalized patients Provides updates to the team on a regular basis Assists with discharge planning with hospital and PACE teams.
   2. Collaborates with other physicians in order to ensure the provision of high-quality medical care. Determines need and facilitates referrals of PACE participants to medical specialist when deemed necessary.
   3. Collaborates with and supervises midlevel practitioners to ensure comprehensive and continuous care to PACE participants.
   4. Manages all care of participants in the nursing home in coordination with midlevel practitioner; Provides regular visits including those mandated by nursing home regulations and PACE; Performs telephone contacts with nursing home staff as required; Coordinates nursing home participants admission to hospital when necessary.
   5. Actively participates in family conferences. Participates in team meetings, committees, and work groups as assigned. Communicates participant changes to team members.
   6. Participates in educational programs, in-service meetings, and training sessions in an effort to share his/her own expertise with others and further the quality of education and personal growth provided to new personnel, volunteers, and interning students.
4. Quality and Performance Improvement
   1. Investigates new techniques, practices, and equipment in an effort to identify ways of maximizing the quality and efficiency of health care services provided to patients.
   2. Assists in the development and implementation of continuous quality improvement programs and participates in multi-disciplinary continuous quality improvement efforts. Assists in ensuring that all services provided by the department are performed with compassion, understanding, and respect for others.
   3. Completes all documentation in the electronic medical record as required. Complies with all CMS regulations and guidelines as applicable to physicians in the care of the PACE Participants.
   4. Promotes the quality and efficiency of his/her own performance by remaining current with the latest trends in field of expertise through participation in job-relevant seminars and workshops, attendance at professional conferences, and affiliations with national and state professional organizations.
   5. Participates in PACE Baton Rouge Committees as requested by the Medical Director and Executive Director. Advises the Medical Director in ways and means to establish better accountability of PACE Baton Rouge services to clients and referral sources.
5. Other Duties
   1. Maintains flexibility in schedule and responds to unexpected emergencies and changes in workload in order to fulfill responsibilities.
   2. Performs other duties as assigned or requested.

Experience - 1 year experience working with the frail elderly
Education - Graduate of an accredited School of Medicine. Completion of residency in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine.
Licensure - Current unrestricted Louisiana Medical License