Patient advocate vs patient care representative

The differences between patient advocates and patient care representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patient advocate and a patient care representative. Additionally, a patient advocate has an average salary of $36,325, which is higher than the $33,709 average annual salary of a patient care representative.

The top three skills for a patient advocate include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a patient care representative are patients, patient care, and home health.

Patient advocate vs patient care representative overview

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Representative
Yearly salary	$36,325	$33,709
Hourly rate	$17.46	$16.21
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	88,778	133,317
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient advocate do?

A patient advocate is responsible for supporting the patients with the medical processes in a healthcare institution, assisting them with insurance claims and medical billing disputes, verifying treatment procedures, and conducting referrals to medical professionals based on the patient's needs. Patient advocates facilitate a payment plan for the patients, discussing this plan to the financial department of the facility. They also address the patients' inquiries and concerns, as well as their complaints with hospital operations, immediately raising these issues to higher management.

What does a patient care representative do?

PCRs (Patient Care Representatives) are given responsibilities like updating and verifying patient information after every visit, scheduling and reminding patients about appointments, and informing patients about delays and how long the estimated waiting times will be. They are also responsible for obtaining patients' personal information like their address, contact details, insurance information, and medical and surgical history. They must be able to communicate with patients, family members, and medical staff to give them all the information they need to treat the person looking for medical help.

Patient advocate vs patient care representative salary

Patient advocates and patient care representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Representative
Average salary	$36,325	$33,709
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	Cognizant	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between patient advocate and patient care representative education

There are a few differences between a patient advocate and a patient care representative in terms of educational background:

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient advocate vs patient care representative demographics

Here are the differences between patient advocates' and patient care representatives' demographics:

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Representative
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 23.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient advocate and patient care representative duties and responsibilities

Patient advocate example responsibilities.

Manage the complaint process as required by CMS for the hospital.
Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Train to welcome and register patients at ESI triage window.
Document patients medical problems using ICD 9 and CPT coding for patients diagnosis.
Pull any incoming referrals, triage them, and schedule patients with the appropriate doctor.
Collect and review patient information to determine patients' eligibility for Medicaid and charity program assistance.

Patient care representative example responsibilities.

Manage cash and co-payments accurately and discharge patients providing them with proper medical notes and information before exiting.
Verify insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, register patients, and code proper ICD-9 and CPT codes on encounters.
Utilize medical terminology, CPT, HCPC and ICD-9 and patient information into new authorizations.
Interview patients to gather information pertinent to their Medicaid application.
Screen, identify, and enter ICD-9 coding from treatment record forms.
Maintain patient confidentiality and follow HIPAA rules.

Patient advocate vs patient care representative skills

Common patient advocate skills

Patients, 28%
Customer Service, 11%
Patient Care, 5%
Medicaid, 4%
Financial Assistance, 4%
Patient Accounts, 4%

Common patient care representative skills

Patients, 25%
Patient Care, 13%
Home Health, 7%
Cash Management, 5%
Phone Calls, 4%
CPT, 3%

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Patient Advocate
Patient Advocate vs Patient Care Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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