Lead, Case Costing

At Ontario Health, we are committed to developing a strong organizational culture that connects and inspires all team members across the province. Our vision is that together, we will be a leader in health and wellness for all. Our mission is to connect the health system to drive improved and equitable health outcomes, experiences and value. How we work together is reflected through our five values: integrity, inspiration, tenacity, humility and care.

What Ontario Health offers:   

Achieving your career goals is a priority to us. Benefits of working at Ontario Health may include the following based on employment type:  

Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage from your first day  Health care spending account  Premium defined benefit pension plan  3 personal days and 2 float days annually  Individual contributors start at 3 weeks’ vacation with 4 weeks at 2 yrs. Career development opportunities  A collaborative values-based team culture  Wellness programs A hybrid working model  Participation in

Want to make a difference in your career? Consider this opportunity.

Here is what you will be doing:

Funding Unit is part of Ontario Health (OH), Sector Support Performance and Accountability Portfolio (SSPA). SSPA has a mandate of enabling the Ontario healthcare system to provide high-quality, equitable care, and Funding Unit contributes to this mandate by development and implementation of funding policy and innovative funding models, aimed at leveraging funding to align with overall program goals and to drive value and performance in the system. Funding Unit is represented by a close collaboration of three interdependent teams, Modelling & Development, and Operations and Case Costing. Each of these teams is led by a Manager. Reporting to the Manager of Case Costing, the Program Lead, Case Costing (CC) will work in a dynamic environment to lead, provide advice and deliver CC supports, to OH, the Ministry of Health (the Ministry), existing/new/potential CC facilities and other stakeholders with consideration of related digital health information, CC data quality assurance and standards.

The Program Lead will work closely with the third-party CC IT healthcare financial software and decision support vendor and through their leadership will contribute to making recommendations to the ministry on the strategy, vision and high-quality standards for CC related to the overall development, implementation, and maintenance of the IT/clinical/finance data standards across the Province’s CC facilities. This position also leverages standards and IT/IM expertise for digital health standards, including data standards for data exchange and appropriate use, data representation, and health terminologies that enable data interoperability for health system solutions used for direct care of patients and secondary use in support of health system management. The Program Lead identifies, oversees and leads the tactical decision-making for alignment with strategic direction/vision for the Provincial Ontario Case Costing Data Record and data for secondary use. Working closely with the Vendor for the delivery of annual case cost data submissions for over 70 existing facilities, the Program Lead will also be supporting/leading a provincial initiative to recruit for 20 additional CC facilities across new sectors (with a focus on community and mental health services) in the next five years to enhance the current Provincial case cost data.

Working with the Manager and Stakeholders, the Program Lead will be involved in creating and supporting the development of a Centre of Excellence (COE). The COE will be leveraged to support the benchmark reporting/analysis, education and use of CC data by facilities, OHTs, Regions and apply best practices which align with the Ministry’s set Standards and Data Quality Audits. The Program Lead will leverage their IT/IM expertise and use of Business Intelligence tools to disseminate this information to the field. The Program Lead with work with Ministry representatives to provide consultation on the continuous improvement of Standards and Audits and support the return of previous CC facilities (that have withdrawn from the Program) back to submitting annually again.

Here is what you will need to be successful:

Working in a fast-paced environment with multiple and changing priorities, the Program Lead, Case Costing will be supporting the planning, coordination of, and delivery of multiple complex OCC projects based on high quality standards and within specified timelines. This will be accomplished by:

Providing leadership, subject matter expertise and support to the CC Team comprised of Project Manager, Program Lead and Senior Costing Specialists responsible for operationalizing and supporting the CC initiative. Providing expertise with strategies related to Information Technology and Information Management to leverage the support and improvement of digital health standards, including data standards for data exchange and appropriate use and data representation. Coaching staff to ensure that continuous quality improvement initiatives are incorporated into day-to-day activities Lead and participate in various committees to support OCC work Have highly organized, detail-oriented and have excellent engagement and planning skills and advanced people/soft skills Play a lead role in and execution of the vision and mission for the OH, SSPA, Funding Unit and Case Costing Team. Lead and oversee contributions to the ongoing evolution of the OH strategic direction and CC priorities, including data standards for data exchange, data representation, and health terminologies that enable data interoperability for health system solutions used for direct care of patients and secondary use in support of health system management. Play a lead role in defining and refining of key strategies, tactics, and policies applicable to CC Standards such as alignment with pan-Canadian, and international health informatics/health information standards, and relevant legislation, as well as governance and related processes, including knowledge assets, tools, and products, to ensure that Ontario’s CC standards have defined mechanisms that support and conform to the selected standards requirements of the relevant stakeholders. Provide subject matter guidance and leadership to Project Managers and Sr. Specialists through a strong understanding of the CC Standards and digital health landscape in Ontario, Canada and internationally, specifically focused on the selection, development, implementation and interpretation of health informatics and health information standards and related artefacts for the establishment of and compliance with Digital Health/CC Standards-based solutions in Ontario. Provide guidance and leadership to implement the strategic priorities of the CC Program. Provide data and technical standards expert advisory services to OH colleagues, external partners, and clients to assist with their CC health information exchange initiatives by conducting necessary analysis, identifying opportunities for advancing interoperability, providing standards subject matter advice, and recommending fit for purpose CC digital health standards through collaboration with internal/external relevant stakeholders. Develop and manage system stakeholder relationships in order to design, pilot and execute various initiatives to increase and sustain the governance and adoption of standards. Provide expertise and acts as a champion for CC Standards with internal and external audiences including development of position statements for influencing industry direction and vendor roadmaps for CC digital health standards-based solutions. Play a key leadership role in making recommendations to the Ministry on CC Standards – knowledge assets, tools, and products for use by OH. Support provision of CC standards specific education and training provincially to help ensure knowledge transfer and retention by CC Team, and ongoing knowledge transfer for OH projects. Understand and translate strategic, tactical and operational business requirements into effective published standards specifications and standards compliance for multiple standard types with diverse standards policies. Provide ongoing support and effective oversight of the OCC initiative, including:Effective maintenance of existing case costing facilities and the Implementation of new facilities to utilize case costingMonitoring and working with stakeholders to continuously improve data quality and enhance current data standardsData support (e.g. milestone reviews, data use, quality/activity reporting)Data quality (e.g. adherence to standards and Ministry recommendations, data quality reviews)Leverage best practices in case costingPartner with other areas of OH to provide technical support (e.g. hardware/software, database administration, data submission follow-ups) Provide Facility support with ongoing or halted OCC submissions by:Engaging with facilities/Regions and demonstrating the benefits of case costing data and internal usesResponding to data quality issues and concernsLeveraging hospital/health sector experience, knowledge and sharing of previously applied solutionsEducating and sharing of best practices Provide Region and Provincial support with key strategies from the Centre of Excellence by:Informing facilities/Regions of best practices for case costing Sharing internal and external uses of the case costing data for benchmarking or evidence informed decision making, etc.Sharing solutions to improve data quality and completeness of dataEnable open dialogue to discuss unique hospital specific concerns, data submission experience, HHR concerns Support the Manager as a subject matter expert to OH business units, clinical teams, and external partners regarding case costing by:Supporting the development of a Centre of Excellence for Ontario Case Costing InitiativeProvide support and consultation for queries/requests related to costing (ie case costing, micro-costing, costing infrastructure)Maintain costing databases to ensure adherence to Provincial Standards or Accepted MethodologiesEnhancing and maintaining knowledge of the healthcare funding programs, policies and models in Ontario (QBPs, GEM, Priority Programs etc.)Having a proven track record of collaboration, the ability to utilize knowledge of provincial health system funding and case costing; the capability to manage and execute complex project deliverables on time; and as well as success with leading strong teams of experts in this areaCoordinating Stakeholder engagement to ensure Data Quality, Benchmarking, Audit Reports are available to meet analytic needs and reviewed for improvements to the current system. Cultivating stakeholder relationships and maintaining a strong collaborative working style will be critical success factors to this role.Establishing outstanding working relationship and collaboration with team members and staff from different departments and external stakeholders and the Ministry.Perform cross-functional and/or other duties consistent with the job classification, as assigned or requested

Education and Experience

A minimum of a bachelor’s Degree in Health Informatics, Data Science, Health Administration, Finance and/or Accounting Designation or similar discipline with equivalent experience. A Master’s degree is preferred. Minimum of 7-10+ years of related case costing experience in Healthcare, including extensive experience coordinating or managing case costing projects and facility submissions, knowledge and use of CIHI datasets is required.

Knowledge and Skills

Demonstrated ability to lead, formally or informally, teams to deliver effective services in a client-focused model. Experience working with external (Ministry of Health or HSP) and internal stakeholders from Program areas as well as key corporate services such as, Quality Assurance, Security, Privacy, Product Management and Business Intelligence teams to develop, manage, lead the adoption and execution of project plans. Strong communication skills with experience interpreting, synthesizing analytic and technical information, and presenting to key stakeholders and leaders. Excellent project management skills and demonstrated knowledge of project management concepts. Experience with benchmarking reporting and use of BI tools, SAS and relational database management (SQL), advanced proficiency in MS Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) Advanced problem-solving capability with excellent attention to detail. Ability to work effectively both autonomously and as a part of a team. Extensive case costing knowledge as well as a strong understanding of CIHI and other hosptial datasets is required. Ability to understand and apply case cost data standards and their application. Knowledge of Ontario’s health care environment and OH initiatives is an asset.

Employment Type: Permanent Full-Time

Salary Band:   7

Location:  Ontario (currently hybrid; subject to change)

All applicants must be a resident of Ontario to be considered for roles at Ontario Health.

Internal Application Deadline Date : August 31, 2023

Ontario Health encourages applications from candidates who are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous; Francophone; Black and racialized; members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; trans and nonbinary; and disabled.

We encourage applicants with accessibility needs to notify us if they have any accommodation needs in the application and/or interview process.

Note: As part of the initial recruitment screening process, applicants must confirm that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If applicants are not fully vaccinated, they will be required to identify any accommodation needs pursuant to a protected ground under the Code. Applicants who identify an accommodation need will be required to provide supporting documentation with respect to their need for accommodation when requested by Ontario Health. If no such accommodation is identified, the applicant will not be eligible to proceed through the recruitment process. 

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