What does a health care coordinator do?
As the health care coordinator, they are mostly assigned at the front desk to assist you through your appointment, help you fill out medical forms, answers your questions, and reach out to your insurance provider to determine payment options. They help patients to feel confident in the process and get organized. They also consult and work with other health care providers to book appointments and note treatment plans. Moreover, they do complex tasks, including facilitating, ensuring treatment plans are successfully done, and help the care team with recommended care.
Health care coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real health care coordinator resumes:
- Manage client accounts making sure they are up to date and within Medicare guidelines.
- Manage caseload by providing care coordination to individuals with a primary intellectual/developmental disability diagnosis all of whom receive community-base waiver services.
- Expand use of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for services not previously utilize including researching and contracting with outside vendors.
- Establish patient referral sources from business relationships and educate facility staff to identify patients that would benefit from home health services.
- Utilize CPR certification skills when need.
- Help assist residents with ADL's.
- Assess residents for the proper use of rehabilitation aids and wind care dressings.
- Assist with ADL requirements, run errands, provide companionship for those in need.
- Provide life saving medical care, CPR, first aid, wind management, assessments and treatments.
- Identify, address and close gaps in care through data mining in EMR and payer source informatics.
- Provide disciplinary oversight and action.
- Maintain confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements for all patient communications.
- Adhere to HIPAA regulations by maintaining confidentiality of patient health information.
- Assure compliance with Medicare and Medicaid guidelines regarding documentation and regulations.
- Create PowerPoint presentations, standardize forms, and other administrative documents.
Health care coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Health Care Coordinators are proficient in Patients, Social Work, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional stability, Physical stamina, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Health Care Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 17%
Established patient referral sources from business relationships and educated facility staff to identify patients that would benefit from home health services.
- Social Work, 11%
Supported the care plans established by medical, behavioral health, and social work member of the integrated health care team.
- Home Health, 11%
Organize, schedule, and facilitate all home health needs for private care clients, in accordance with Registered Nursing Services.
- Mental Health, 6%
Organized and compiled resources, including investigating mental health programs, community programs, and federal entitlements programs.
- Behavioral Health, 6%
Completed general assessments/intakes for new members as a certified general assessor while assisting members in identifying behavioral health services.
- Patient Care, 5%
Provide council to the Case Managers regarding differing situations that are encountered professionally regarding patient care.
"patients," "social work," and "home health" are among the most common skills that health care coordinators use at work. You can find even more health care coordinator responsibilities below, including:
Emotional stability. One of the key soft skills for a health care coordinator to have is emotional stability. You can see how this relates to what health care coordinators do because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Additionally, a health care coordinator resume shows how health care coordinators use emotional stability: "practice wraparound care to help ensure that families can maintain stability after time-limited services have closed. "
Physical stamina. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling health care coordinator duties is physical stamina. The role rewards competence in this skill because "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." According to a health care coordinator resume, here's how health care coordinators can utilize physical stamina in their job responsibilities: "coordinated physical, occupational, and speech therapies with home health nursing. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of health care coordinators is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday health care coordinator duties, as "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide superior customer service and compassion for clients and their families. "
Organizational skills. For certain health care coordinator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a health care coordinator rely on this skill, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what health care coordinators do: "ensured regulatory compliance of all clinical practices with all federal and state regulations governing hospice agencies and with organizational polices. "
Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a health care coordinator to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what health care coordinators relies on this skill, since "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." How this skill relates to health care coordinator duties can be seen in an example from a health care coordinator resume snippet: "conducted detailed chart reviews for use by home health nurses. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on health care coordinator job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in health care coordinator duties, since "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day health care coordinator responsibilities: "provide accurate & annual assessments, to include oversight of medication management, labs and communication regarding diagnoses with confidentiality. "
The three companies that hire the most health care coordinators are:
- UnitedHealth Group25 health care coordinators jobs
- Centene23 health care coordinators jobs
- Camelot Foster Care12 health care coordinators jobs
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Compare different health care coordinators
Health care coordinator vs. Staff nurse
Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, health care coordinator responsibilities require skills like "social work," "home health," "mental health," and "behavioral health." Meanwhile a typical staff nurse has skills in areas such as "bls," "acls," "acute care," and "direct patient care." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Staff nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $58,739. On the other hand, health care coordinators are paid more in the insurance industry with an average salary of $47,124.On average, staff nurses reach lower levels of education than health care coordinators. Staff nurses are 8.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Health care coordinator vs. Nurse
Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that health care coordinator responsibilities requires skills like "social work," "mental health," "behavioral health," and "customer service." But a nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "bls," "acute care," "acls," and "emergency situations."
On average, nurses earn a higher salary than health care coordinators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurses earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $63,263. Whereas health care coordinators have higher pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $47,124.nurses earn lower levels of education than health care coordinators in general. They're 7.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for health care coordinators in the next 3-5 years?
Jamie Rauscher RVT
Medical Manager, Animal Hospital of Towne Lake and Cat Clinic of Woodstock
Health care coordinator vs. Case management specialist
In healthcare facilities, a case management specialist is in charge of ensuring that patients get quality service. Their responsibilities often include handling admission and discharge procedures, preparing and processing documents, gathering and organizing patient information, and developing strategies to optimize case management operations. There are also instances where they must address patient concerns and issues, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a case management specialist, it is essential to function while adhering to the facility's policies and regulations.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a health care coordinator is likely to be skilled in "home health," "behavioral health," "customer service," and "rehabilitation," while a typical case management specialist is skilled in "substance abuse," "care coordination," "financial assistance," and "management services."
Case management specialists make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $55,377. On the other hand, health care coordinators are paid the highest salary in the insurance industry, with average annual pay of $47,124.When it comes to education, case management specialists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to health care coordinators. In fact, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Health care coordinator vs. Registered nurse
The primary responsibilities of a registered nurse involve caring for a variety of patients, from ill and injured to those who are healthy and wanting to stay that way. Nurses have different specialization and work with particular patients, such as newborn babies or those who are suffering from particular medical conditions. They work on different settings which includes hospital, outpatient facility, rehabilitation center, nursing home, dialysis center, home healthcare agency, and other offices. They can administer medications, wound care, and other aids or treatment plan. They also conduct medical tests, interpret the results, and monitor patients' recovery and progress.
Types of health care coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025
