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Job Title: Substance Use Navigator (SUN)

Job Summary:

The SUN navigator helps patients access evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) with a focus on low-threshold access to MAT (medication for addiction treatment) and harm reduction. Navigators conduct outreach and identification of patients, conduct initial brief assessments, introduce patients to MAT programs and services, facilitate appointments at outpatient MAT clinics, serve as a resource and coach for their clients, and advocate for culture change in the hospital. They also assist with access to other services, such as mental health services, primary care, social services, and residential treatment facilities.

Essential Functions:

Patient Identification:

• Assist with identification of patients with SUD or co-occurring mental health disorders in the emergency department (ED) and, where feasible, within inpatient units by monitoring patient tracking systems to screen for eligible patients and checking in with clinicians and nursing staff to receive referrals of eligible patients.

• Establish a positive relationship with patients struggling with drug use or co-occurring mental health disorders. If required by the hospital, to allow for billing, this may include initial patient assessments and brief interventions using standardized tools.

• Make navigator contact information widely available to people who use drugs, patients with co-occurring mental health disorders, and clinicians; respond to calls or texts directly from patients and providers.

• Advocate for a culture of low threshold access to MAT for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) that includes signage or materials inviting patients to seek help for substance use in prominent areas of the ED and hospital.

  Patient Engagement in Treatment

• Facilitate initiation of MAT with hospital clinicians.

• Use motivational interviewing techniques to communicate with patients in a respectful, culturally appropriate, non-judgmental manner.

• Maintain up-to-date information about the effects of various substances, withdrawal symptoms, and treatment options to effectively educate and counsel patients.

• Promote harm-reduction strategies based on patients’ goals, preferences, and life circumstances.

• Engage patients with co-occurring mental health disorders and help them access treatment.

  Follow-Up Care Navigation

• Help patients overcome barriers to filling prescriptions for MAT (e.g., insurance status, copay expense, cost differences between formulations, etc.)

• Schedule appointments at MAT-capable clinics for ongoing treatment and address access barriers by assisting with transportation, retrieving medical records, providing cell phones, or other supports as determined by patient needs and community resources.

• Establish a relationship with patients and communicate via telephone, text, and/or email to remind patients of appointments, help navigate obstacles to follow-up treatment, and provide encouragement.

• Work with hospital staff to set up a robust system for ensuring patient referral and follow-up outside of the navigator’s regular hours.

• Develop expertise in insurance benefits and exclusions related to treatment.

• Provide patients referrals to other services, such as mental health services, shelter, primary care, social services, and residential treatment facilities.

• Assist out-of-county patients to access MAT and other services in their home county

  Documentation

• Enter encounter data into the electronic medical record or other data collection system as determined by hospital protocols.

• If required for program reporting, aggregate monthly or quarterly counts of targeted metrics, such as number of patients served, buprenorphine administrations, prescriptions, referrals to care, etc.

  Culture Change

• Advocate for a harm-reduction approach to patients who use drugs within the hospital and community to reinforce evidence-based, non-judgmental approaches so that patients who use drugs get the same care as patients who do not use drugs.

  
  

Behavioral Standards:

• Demonstrates the ability to prioritize tasks and job assignment
• Demonstrates the ability to prepare work schedule and assignments and performs the tasks as assigned.
• Demonstrate the ability to perform additional tasks as instructed (i.e. customer service advocate)

Communication:

• Demonstrates the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Demonstrates the ability to research and coordinate information and distribute accordingly.
• Demonstrates and understands the various procedures within the department
• Ability to communicate with patients clearly, respectfully, and in a culturally appropriate manner.
• Ability to communicate in languages spoken in the local community is a plus
• Ability to use a computer and to learn to use electronic health records

Collaboration/Teamwork:

• Maintain and foster a collaborative relationship with peers.
• Promote the use of non-stigmatizing language by hospital staff when referring to people who use drugs.

Education/Experience:

• High school graduate or equivalent
• Minimum of 1 year experience

Licensure/Certifications:

• Certified Medical Assistant or Substance Use Counselor
• Current BLS for Health care Provider Card

ADA/Physical Demands:

ADA CONSIDERATION: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Such accommodations must be requested by the employee/applicant in order to be considered.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Must be able to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical information, and to be easily understood through verbal communication in the English language. Must be able to prepare documentation in a manner that conforms to prescribed style and format, and to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Bilingual skills (Spanish) preferred.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Must be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to perform these operations using units of weight measurement, volume, and distance. Ability to perform upper-level mathematical operations, including algebra and geometry, frequent distribution, determination of test reliability and validity, analysis of variance, correlation techniques, sampling theory and factor analysis.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; talk or hear; and taste or smell. The employee is regularly required to lift, push and/or pull weights in excess of 10 pounds. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than 100 pounds, with assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Is occasionally exposed to toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock, and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.