Location: Chicago, Illinois
Business Unit: Rush Medical Center
Hospital: Rush University Medical Center
Department: Revenue Cycle Decision Support
Work Type: Full Time (Total FTE between 0.9 and 1.0)
Shift: Shift 1Work Schedule: 8 Hr (8:00:00 AM - 5:00:00 PM)
Pay Range: $69.41 - $103.42 per hour
Rush salaries are determined by many factors including, but not limited to, education, job-related experience and skills, as well as internal equity and industry specific market data. The pay range for each role reflects Rush's anticipated wage or salary reasonably expected to be offered for the position. Offers may vary depending on the circumstances of each case.
Summary:The System Director, Revenue Cycle - Ambulatory Operations is responsible for leading enterprise-wide performance improvement, operational standardization, and revenue cycle integration initiatives across all employed physician groups and outpatient clinics. This includes support of professional billing processes, new clinic development, provider credentialing workflows, and new provider intake coordination.The Director is also responsible for ensuring revenue accuracy through contract and payer plan review in Epic, managing denials and payment variances using tools, and driving workflows that support timely claim filing and patient billing. Additionally, the Director provides strategic and operational leadership over a multi-site team, including HR management, staff development, and budget oversight
Responsibilities:Revenue Cycle Optimization & Performance
- Lead system-wide initiatives to standardize and optimize revenue cycle workflows across professional (physician and ambulatory) operations.
- Drive performance improvement for KPIs such as charge lag, denial rate, A/R days, clean claim rate, and cash collections.
- Oversee the integration and effective use of Epic payer plans, contract terms, and reimbursement logic to ensure underpayments, overpayments, and denial trends are accurately identified and resolved.
- Reduce variation in front-, middle-, and back-end billing processes through the implementation of standardized best practices.
- Partner with middle revenue cycle and IT teams to resolve systemic gaps and optimize Epic functionality across workflows.
New Clinic and Provider Integration
- Collaborate with clinic operations and leadership to ensure revenue cycle readiness for new clinic launches, including build coordination, billing workflows, and staff education.
- Coordinate with credentialing and payer enrollment teams to prevent delays in reimbursement due to provider onboarding issues.
- Lead new provider intake processes, ensuring timely access to Epic, education on revenue cycle expectations, and alignment with documentation and coding standards.
Collaborative Denials and Patient Billing Strategy
- Partner with cash posting and patient experience teams to ensure denied claims are reviewed promptly and not held unnecessarily, reducing risk of untimely filing.
- Develop workflows and education to ensure patients are billed appropriately when payer coverage is denied and patient responsibility applies.
Leadership, Talent Management & Fiscal Oversight
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of managers, supervisors, and analysts responsible for professional revenue cycle operations
- Oversee workforce planning, productivity management, staff engagement, and performance accountability in collaboration with HR partners
- Develop and manage departmental budgets aligned with organizational financial goals and operational priorities.
Compliance, Change Management & Physician Engagement
- Stay current with evolving payer rules, federal/state regulations, and industry best practices to ensure ongoing compliance.
- Lead system-wide change management initiatives to support adoption of standard processes across diverse practices and regions.
- Engage physicians through regular communication, education, and reporting to improve documentation quality, coding accuracy, and charge timeliness.
Required Job Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in Healthcare Administration, Business, or related field preferred
- 7-10 years of progressive experience in physician/professional revenue cycle operations, with 3+ years in a system or multi-site leadership role
- Deep knowledge of Epic Professional Billing and familiarity with payer plan setup, contract terms, reimbursement structures, and system tools
- Strong understanding of CPT/ICD-10 coding, modifiers, billing guidelines, payer requirements, and revenue compliance
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives that align revenue goals with clinical operations and finance
- Excellent leadership, communication, and staff development skills
