Perinatal Data Specialist

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees.

Ready to join our quest for better?

The Perinatal Data Specialist reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

• Conducts interviews with parents of all live births, including early neonatal deaths, to obtain demographic information for birth certificate creation.
• Abstracts extensive medical information from patient records according to guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
• Provides explanation to patients and families regarding the Birth Certificate, Social Security Enumeration at Birth, Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, and Genetic Testing programs.
• Accurately completes detailed documentation for above programs and submits to IDPH within required timeframe.
• Consults with Nursing and Social Work staff in cases of medical/social crises to facilitate obtaining information from parents with minimal disruption.
• Identifies infants having any of the medical conditions which require completion of an APORs report (Adverse Pregnancy Outcome Report) to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
• Reviews the medical record of any discharged infant assigned one of the more than 1250 qualifying diagnosis codes to confirm or rule out the presence of these abnormal conditions.
• Creates reports in the IDPH APORS database by the 7th day after discharge.
• Arranges notification for each family about their child's qualification for the program and expected contact from the public health department.
• Maintains a comprehensive list of reportable conditions, consulting with the IDPH staff to clarify possible conditions and update regularly as new information becomes available.
• Liaises with medical and nursing staff to provide education, answer questions, and encourage participation.
• Fields questions from Public Health nursing staff in the field as well as parents regarding referrals of their infant.
• Responsible for the follow-up of abnormal Newborn Metabolic Screening laboratory results until the necessary retesting and/or referrals are made.
• Clarifies and confirms test results and treatment recommendations with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
• Reviews the child's chart for status of previous results, medical history of the child, and the identification of the responsible pediatrician.
• Contacts the pediatrician to relay the results and recommendations verbally and via fax to ensure that the appropriate follow-up care is administered.
• Documents all communication for each result.
• Conducts chart reviews on all patients with diagnosis codes for induced termination of pregnancy and related complications and completes the appropriate report whenever necessary.
• Provides support to nursing staff, physicians, and Referred Lab personnel for questions regarding testing protocols, results, and recommendations.
• Acts as liaison between IDPH and Prentice NICU staff for progress reports on babies currently hospitalized at Prentice Hospital.
• Maintains electronic and paper logs of abnormal metabolic results until the cases are closed and ready…