Organ Placement Specialist I

Position Description

The primary function of this position is to provide twenty-four hour service to UNOS members (Organ Procurement Organizations, Transplant Centers, Histocompatibility Laboratories) in the coordination of renal and extra renal organ allocation, donor/recipient matching, organ transportation assistance, and transplant candidate waiting list maintenance tasks.  These tasks are performed in a fast-paced, high-stress environment with a required high level of accuracy.  The OPS I serves as a resource for information technology troubleshooting and organ allocation policies.   Each task completed by an OPS I must be fully documented and adhere to established policies and procedures.  Due to the complexity of the tasks and the potential life-threatening nature of an error, all work performed by an OPS I is reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.  The OPS I is responsible for reporting issues that arise during their shift to the following shift and as applicable to OPS II, OPS III, and/or Organ Center management staff.

Key Responsibilities

• Organ Placement/Transportation Assistance: The OPS I provides organ placement assistance according to established OPTN and UNOS policies and Organ Center procedures, appropriately documenting all activity.  As a part of this process, each OPS I is responsible for the communication of a complete organ donor profile including but not limited to: a medical/social history from the donor’s next of kin, clinical lab values, serologies, hemodynamics, and organ specific anatomy reports to transplant teams to allow for informed decisions in the refusal of or acceptance and transplant of life-saving organs into transplant candidates.  (The OPS I is responsible for organ types that include heart, lungs, heart-lung combinations, livers, intestines, pancreas, kidney-pancreas combinations, and kidneys.)
  • As part of the organ placement process, each OPS I will review the donor chart for completeness and consult with the Organ Procurement Organization staff to resolve any questionable or incomplete information.  The OPS I is responsible for providing the most efficient means of transportation for the shipping of organs/tissue using ground couriers and commercial and/or chartered aircraft.
  • The OPS I is also responsible for updating accepting transplant teams with any and all new donor information (updated lab values, organ recovery notes, transportation delays or changes) as they occur.  The OPS I has responsibility for prioritization in the execution of the above tasks.
• Communication/Documentation: The OPS I is responsible for demonstrating clear and concise communication and customer service skills on the telephone and in writing when dealing with UNOS members and staff. 
  • The OPS I must rapidly understand, research, and resolve inquiries.  It is required that donor cases, organ allocation attempts, and transplant candidate waiting list modifications be clearly documented for internal and external audit purposes, and for legal review when requested. 
  • The OPS I is responsible for completing associated Organ Center activity logs regularly and thoroughly to allow for accurate reporting of UNOS Organ Center activities in compliance with Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) contract deliverables
• File Maintenance/Match Run: The OPS I provides accurate and timely donor/transplant candidate match runs to Organ Procurement Organizations who have identified a potential organ donor for use in the allocation of life-saving organs.  Each OPS I is responsible for insuring the accuracy of the match runs promptly and before transmitting the match run to the Organ Procurement Organization for use in organ allocation. 
  • The OPS I will also supply accurate and timely transplant center specific, organ specific, transplant candidate waiting list information to transplant centers.
  • Each OPS I provides the service of transplant candidate waiting list file maintenance tasks to UNOS members, and assures that transplant candidates are added, modified, and deleted from the national transplant waiting list at the request of UNOS members, both precisely and in a timely fashion.  This includes data entry of blood type (ABO) testing and subtyping; a timeout for comparison of ABO data vs. ABO source documentation; and verification of blood type entry in the data system for both organ donors and waiting list candidates.   Each OPS I is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their work in this area.
• Resource Support: The OPS I assists UNOS members with organ allocation policy questions or issues and assists UNOS members in the resolution of transplant candidate inquiries.  These may include questions about medical urgency ranking, candidate waiting time qualification criteria or waiting time, organ matching and organ screening criteria.  Incoming calls are not routine and rarely correspond to a standard script or procedure.
  • In addition, the OPS I will provide information technology troubleshooting assistance for Internet based UNOS applications.  Each OPS I will demonstrate effective communication with users with various levels of technical expertise. 
  • The OPS I is responsible for maintaining computer system security through the use of individual user passwords as well as patient and donor confidentiality in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA.)   
  • Each OPS I will provide after-hours disease transmission monitoring for potential donor derived disease transmissions.  This includes acknowledging receipt of reports, advising members of policy, timelines, and reporting requirements, and involving patient safety staff when necessary due to specific disease or infection processes.
• Auditing/Projects: As well as being responsible for all the tasks they perform, each OPS I is responsible for auditing waiting list maintenance and is frequently called upon to assist with other quality assurance projects. 
  • The OPS I will participate in general office duties such as filing and re-stocking supplies and will participate in special projects as requested by Organ Center Management.

Minimum Requirements

• Entry-level experience in the field of transplantation, information technology, customer service, or health care or related field required.
• In order to perform the above duties, Organ Placement Specialist are required to work 12-hour shifts that rotate between day and night, and include weekends, holidays and on call responsibilities as scheduled.

Critical Skills

• Must have demonstrated ability to work under high stress, prioritize effectively, and multi-task efficiently with an extremely high level of responsibility and accuracy.  Although policies and procedures define the actions of the position, the candidate must be able to quickly recognize and anticipate changes and make appropriate adjustments in their actions. 
• Requires a multi-talented team player with excellent oral and written communication skills-particularly telephone skills, and a strong background in medical terminology and/or human anatomy and/or human physiology. 
• Must have the ability to quickly gather and report information accurately in required order and format.    Exceptional customer service skills required. 
• Experience with Windows O.S. and Internet based applications required.

Education

• 4-year degree in Science, Information Technology, Healthcare or related field, or equivalent work experience required.

Physical Requirements

• General office demands
  • Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  • Frequent reaching, handling, and fine manipulation for using office equipment, filing, and managing paperwork.
  • Manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, mouse, and other office tools.
  • Occasional standing, walking, and bending.
  • Ability to lift 10-20 pounds occasionally.
  • Vision abilities required include close vision for computer work and reading documents.
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.