Patient advocate vs patient care specialist

The differences between patient advocates and patient care specialists 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 specialist. Additionally, a patient advocate has an average salary of $36,325, which is higher than the $34,157 average annual salary of a patient care specialist.

The top three skills for a patient advocate include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a patient care specialist are patients, patient care, and data entry.

Patient advocate vs patient care specialist overview

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Specialist
Yearly salary	$36,325	$34,157
Hourly rate	$17.46	$16.42
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	88,778	146,861
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
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 specialist do?

A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.

Patient advocate vs patient care specialist salary

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

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Specialist
Average salary	$36,325	$34,157
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $20,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Cognizant	KPG
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient advocate and patient care specialist education

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

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient advocate vs patient care specialist demographics

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

	Patient Advocate	Patient Care Specialist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%	Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient advocate and patient care specialist 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 specialist example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Utilize software applications to document call interactions using medical terminology and responsible for initially engaging patients by explaining the services.
Verify CPT codes along with diagnosis code for guarantee payment for surgeries.
Process daily fee tickets and correctly enter office visit ICD 9 and CPT codes into the system for billing.
Adhere to HIPPA confidentiality guidelines.
Track Medicaid eligibility of clients.

Patient advocate vs patient care specialist skills

Common patient advocate skills

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

Common patient care specialist skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Care, 17%
Data Entry, 5%
Medical Terminology, 4%
CPT, 2%
CPR, 2%

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Patient Advocate
Patient Advocate vs Patient Care Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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