Patient advocate vs patient liaison

The differences between patient advocates and patient liaisons 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 liaison. Additionally, a patient advocate has an average salary of $36,325, which is higher than the $32,314 average annual salary of a patient liaison.

The top three skills for a patient advocate include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a patient liaison are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Patient advocate vs patient liaison overview

	Patient Advocate	Patient Liaison
Yearly salary	$36,325	$32,314
Hourly rate	$17.46	$15.54
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	88,778	84,302
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
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 liaison do?

Patient Liaisons are intermediaries addressing concerns on behalf of patients and families working in tandem with the hospital administrator. They are responsible for gathering data regarding patient care issues and inquiries, assessing patient well-being, suggesting improvements, and interpreting hospital service, policies, and procedures to patients and families. Patient Liaisons also work to educate health care professionals in humanizing the hospital experience for patients. They work in a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or programs related to public health.

Patient advocate vs patient liaison salary

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

	Patient Advocate	Patient Liaison
Average salary	$36,325	$32,314
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $24,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Cognizant	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient advocate and patient liaison education

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

	Patient Advocate	Patient Liaison
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient advocate vs patient liaison demographics

Here are the differences between patient advocates' and patient liaisons' demographics:

	Patient Advocate	Patient Liaison
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%	Male, 16.2% Female, 83.8%
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, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient advocate and patient liaison 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.

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Patient liaison example responsibilities.

Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Conduct all insurance verification and obtain authorization to treat sub-acute rehabilitation patients.
Attend Michigan state eligibility hearings, when necessary to assist and gain Medicaid disability benefits for patients.
Interview patients of hospital facility to obtain necessary documentation to secure Medicaid coverage as payment of inpatient hospital charges.
Set up payment plan, verify personal information per HIPAA guidelines.
Respect and maintain HIPPA and patient confidentiality and dignity of patients at all times.

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Patient advocate vs patient liaison skills

Common patient advocate skills

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

Common patient liaison skills

Patients, 37%
Customer Service, 16%
Medical Terminology, 4%
Health System, 3%
HIPAA, 3%
Surgery, 2%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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