What does a patient care manager do?
Patient care managers are executives who are in charge of supervising a clinical team. The managers take responsibility for directing patient care within an organization. Also called health care managers, they protect every patient's safety and health in a clinical setting. They interact with the healthcare team members to maintain open communication. It is also part of their duties to supervise the daily operations in the clinical care units. Managing clinical budgets and maintaining quality health services are also their responsibilities.
Patient care manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient care manager resumes:
- Manage complicated cases involving serious injuries, medical evacuations, cruise ship disembarkation, and repatriation of remains with compassion.
- Direct oversight of all case management and education relate to chronic disease and primary care management.
- Utilize resources such as financial and pharmacy assistance for uninsure patients to receive professional medical care upon discharge.
- Prevent unnecessary hospital admissions using keen assessment skills and redirecting to PCP's office when appropriate.
- Ensure compliance both with HIPAA and CMS, to include all audits and enrollments via Medicare.
- Plant and maintain flower beds such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, and pruning.
- Coordinate patient care through ongoing collaboration with PCP, patient/family, community, and other members of the health care team.
- Assist customers in learning everything they need to know about their new pet and help find the perfect match for them.
- Work with new pet owners to help them learn about their pet, they are going to buy or have bought.
- Develop annual safety and CMS require education.
- Maintain compliance with HIPAA guidelines/regulations and ensure patient confidentiality.
- Maintain health information records in accordance to confidentiality and HIPAA requirements.
- Provide leadership to co-workers through communication with customers, management and workers.
- Direct oversight of staff physician practice management issues, including revenue enhancement, billing and credentialing.
- Develop relationships and provide training to surgical centers, hospitals, rehabilitation centers and physical therapy practices.
Patient care manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Patient Care Managers are proficient in Home Health, Patients, and Quality Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Patient Care Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Home Health, 15%
Certified home health aide with experience in administering medication.
- Patients, 12%
Assessed patients having degenerative diseases, paralysis, occupational pain etc., and administered physical therapy to treat them effectively.
- Quality Care, 8%
Collaborate with Surgical Services leadership to improve Quality Care.
- Social Work, 7%
Assess member for internal/external resource needs such as Behavioral Health, Social Worker or Registered Dietitian intervention.
- Community Resources, 4%
Conducted telephonic assessments to identify appropriate community resources, make referrals and coordinate social services for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.
- Substance Abuse, 4%
Managed and reviewed utilization of mental health and substance abuse services provided in inpatient and intermediate care settings.
Common skills that a patient care manager uses to do their job include "home health," "patients," and "quality care." You can find details on the most important patient care manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a patient care manager to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Additionally, a patient care manager resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "performed glucose testing, vital signs, electrocardiograms, phlebotomy/injections, catheter and tracheotomy care, urine analysis. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of patient care managers is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday patient care manager duties, as "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide leadership to interdisciplinary treatment team utilization review for women's services, dual diagnosis and acute psychiatric clients. "
Technical skills. patient care manager responsibilities often require "technical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." This resume example shows what patient care managers do with technical skills on a typical day: "assess and counsel patients that are experiencing technical, medical, and/or psychological difficulties that are impacting their compliance to treatment. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a patient care manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what patient care managers relies on this skill, since "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." How this skill relates to patient care manager duties can be seen in an example from a patient care manager resume snippet: "manage care transitions through effective and timely communication necessary for members' care and discharge planning. "
Detail oriented. Lastly, "detail oriented" is an important element of what a patient care manager does. Patient care manager responsibilities require this skill because "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." This resume example highlights how patient care manager duties rely on this skill: "worked within a multidisciplinary system, team oriented environment arranged monthly contacts with clients via in person or via phone calls. "
The three companies that hire the most patient care managers are:
- Centene137 patient care managers jobs
- LHC Group96 patient care managers jobs
- Intermountain Healthcare96 patient care managers jobs
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Compare different patient care managers
Patient care manager vs. Medical consultant
A medical consultant assists doctors and other medical staff in running a healthcare facility. They give advice on matters such as salaries, staffing, advertising, safety, patient confidentiality and insurance plan compliance. They are also responsible for gathering and analyzing data, coming up with conclusions, providing recommendations to the employer, helping the institution ensure they are compliant with insurance and safety standards, and offering advice that will help optimize the performance of the health facility.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between patient care managers and medical consultant. For instance, patient care manager responsibilities require skills such as "home health," "quality care," "social work," and "community resources." Whereas a medical consultant is skilled in "patient care," "surgery," "oncology," and "medical services." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Medical consultants tend to make the most money working in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $187,043. In contrast, patient care managers make the biggest average salary, $54,278, in the health care industry.The education levels that medical consultants earn slightly differ from patient care managers. In particular, medical consultants are 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a patient care manager. Additionally, they're 14.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient care manager vs. Research nurse
A research nurse specializes in conducting studies and scientific research for healthcare and medical development. They may work for medical facilities, private clinics, learning institutions, and government agencies. It is their duty to design research strategies and procedures, gather and analyze samples through various scientific methods, coordinate with other experts, and develop treatment and healthcare plans to optimize patient services and outcomes. Moreover, a research nurse typically works with a team of researchers, which requires an active communication line while adhering to the organization's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that patient care manager responsibilities requires skills like "quality care," "social work," "community resources," and "substance abuse." But a research nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "informed consent," "data collection," "irb," and "oncology."
Research nurses earn a lower average salary than patient care managers. But research nurses earn the highest pay in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $61,182. Additionally, patient care managers earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $54,278 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Research nurses tend to reach similar levels of education than patient care managers. In fact, they're 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient care manager vs. Clinical director
A clinical director is a managing professional who manages the work of healthcare providers to ensure quality patient care is achieved. Clinical directors are responsible for organizational tasks such as adjusting staff schedules, explaining insurance benefits to the patients, and managing financial reports. They can work either in small clinics with a smaller workforce or larger hospitals with multiple departments. Clinical directors may also assist in the hiring process of healthcare providers and should establish a positive work environment.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a patient care manager is likely to be skilled in "resident care," "medication administration," "direct patient care," and "medication management," while a typical clinical director is skilled in "patient care," "physical therapy," "clinical services," and "clinical operations."
Clinical directors earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $79,166. Patient care managers earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,278.Most clinical directors achieve a higher degree level compared to patient care managers. For example, they're 17.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient care manager vs. Medical director
A medical director is responsible for handling the overall supervision of different medical departments, managing the coordination between medical teams to ensure smooth operations and achieve high-quality care services for the patients. Medical directors enforce strict guidelines and safety measures for everyone's adherence. They also implement medical care programs, recruit medical staff, inspect the adequacy of medical equipment, respond to patient's inquiries and concerns, and oversee the facilities' procedures. A medical director manages the budget of the department, allocating equal resources to address every need.
Types of patient care manager
Updated January 8, 2025
