Physician- Medical Director for Community Care Program

Responsibilities include:
-Providing vision, supervision, and direction to staff and programs in the Community Care Service (CCS) which is comprised of Non-VA Care (NVCC) and MISSION Act programs.
-Taking prompt actions to ensure that staffing in CCS is always adequate to accomplish required tasks and program missions.
-Works collaboratively with Clinical Informatics, Health Administration Service and Clinical Services regarding processes that overlap with CCS programs.
-Interprets and implements national and VISN guidance for the CCS programs.
-Represents Albany VA in VISN and national settings. Informs leadership when
program achievements or outcomes fall short of local, VISN and national expectations.
-In addition to the expectations listed under the Dimensions of their license, the incumbent is responsible for:

A. Customer Service
-planning on patient and staff feedback and projected needs.
-Plans the provision of services with a patient centered vision to enhance patient education and shared decision making.
-Establishes a customer-oriented culture and promotes hiring of persons who fit that culture.
-Actively identifies and encourages the implementation of best practices in customer service.
-Breaks barriers that impede good service delivery.
-Empowers staff to resolve problems and complaints independently at the lowest level.
-Shares resources to serve customers effectively and efficiently.

B. Quality Improvement
-Directs the continuous measurement and improvement of the quality of care provided by the program.
-Plans, coordinates, and ensures high quality care through utilization of multiple quality measurement tools.
-Seeks feedback from leadership and Albany VA staff on quality and timeliness of Community Care program activities and outcomes.
-Participates in various facility programs designed to enhance and improve the delivery of patient care services, as assigned.
-Continuously assesses and improves the processes of care delivery to enhance patient safety.
-Ensures the ability to meet standards issued by various accrediting and regulatory groups and VACO.
-Initiates and participates in system redesign and process improvement activities.

C. Administrative
-Assumes delegated responsibility from the Chief of Staff for approving and coordinating all CCS related clinical services.
-Develops, implements, and maintains all non-VA care consults, complying with national guidelines for non-VA consult titles and format.
-Assures that organization of non-VA care consults align with required clinical and fiscal tracking.
- Enabling make vs. buy analysis for all non-VA services.
-Develops, implements, and maintains timeliness criteria for approving, authorizing, and providing Non-VA clinical services. Timeliness criteria will adhere to prescribed national timelines and business rules.
-Develops, implements, and maintains electronic reporting systems capturing productivity of CCS (NVCC, Choice, and Mission Act) care program staff, assuring all requests for care are processed within appropriate timeframes, prioritized per clinic need, and completed with medical documentation of the requested service.
-Develops, implements, and maintains mechanisms to assure that desired care is received by the veteran and that consults are closed when the desired care is received.
-Develops, in collaboration with specialty services, standardized packages of clinical services that conform to national guidelines, accepted clinical guidelines and community standards of care.
-Assures that clinical review of all requests for non-VA care addresses eligibility, medical necessity, and availability of care within the VA System prior to approval.
-Develops and maintains relationships with non-VA care providers so that willing providers exist throughout Albany VA catchment area for veterans requiring non-VA Care.

D. Clinical responsibilities - clinical duties in area of specialty as discussed.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4:30pm

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR
  [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.
  Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.]

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.