Patient advocate vs referral coordinator

The differences between patient advocates and referral coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a patient advocate, becoming a referral coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient advocate has an average salary of $36,325, which is higher than the $35,179 average annual salary of a referral coordinator.

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

Patient advocate vs referral coordinator overview

	Patient Advocate	Referral Coordinator
Yearly salary	$36,325	$35,179
Hourly rate	$17.46	$16.91
Growth rate	-4%	-8%
Number of jobs	88,778	65,934
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	40	49
Years of experience	4	2

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 referral coordinator do?

A referral coordinator works with insurance companies and care providers to share essential patient information and assists primarily in scheduling appointments and managing health insurance issues. As a referral coordinator, you will work directly with the patient, patient families, or even social workers, depending on the job and patient needs. Other job responsibilities include general administrative or clerical tasks such as setting up appointments for new and existing patients, verifying insurance information before appointments, and answering phone calls.

Patient advocate vs referral coordinator salary

Patient advocates and referral coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Advocate	Referral Coordinator
Average salary	$36,325	$35,179
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Maine
Best paying company	Cognizant	Horizon Laser Vision
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient advocate and referral coordinator education

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

	Patient Advocate	Referral Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient advocate vs referral coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between patient advocates' and referral coordinators' demographics:

	Patient Advocate	Referral Coordinator
Average age	40	49
Gender ratio	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between patient advocate and referral coordinator 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.

Referral coordinator example responsibilities.

Establish rapport with all PCP offices, hospital personnel, and manage care representatives.
Ensure CPT and ICD-9 coding are accurate and complete according to AMA's guidelines and for third party intermediaries.
Contact medical insurance companies and provide ICD-9 diagnosis and CPT procedure codes for patient's illness, condition or injury.
Apply ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes to complete referral requests online or via fax.
Conduct the entire office's EHR process and create a system to track old and new patient's records.
Incorporate core organizational values of quality, respect, integrity, partnership, and compassion in all activities and decisions.

Patient advocate vs referral coordinator skills

Common patient advocate skills

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

Common referral coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 12%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
EMR, 3%

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Patient Advocate
Patient Advocate vs Referral Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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