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 liaison responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient liaison resumes:
- 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.
- Go over new patient paper work and forms and input patient information into chart on EMR.
- Receive annual training and maintaining compliance with NCO policies and procedures; local, state and federal laws and HIPAA regulations.
- Review EMR information while adhering to the confidentiality policy.
- Coordinate with the surgery schedulers/admitting department and operating room.in a rapidly changing treatment schedule.
- Schedule and coordinate patient appointments for ancillary services and surgeries for all patients coming internationally or otherwise.
- Perform psychiatric assessments and screening, refill medications with provider guidance and interpret and explain lab results to patients.
- Coordinate check-in processes by contacting insurance providers to verify correct insurance information and get authorization for proper billing codes.
- Enter confidential personal health information and financial information into IDX system with a high rate of accuracy and confidentiality.
Patient liaison skills and personality traits
We calculated that 37% of Patient Liaisons are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Medical Terminology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Patient Liaisons that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 37%
Partner with Regional Operations Directors and Facility Administrators to identify and implement best practices for accepting patients from inpatient dialysis providers.
- Customer Service, 16%
Support providers by answering telephone calls, scheduling appointments, processing referrals and providing excellent customer service to patients.
- Medical Terminology, 4%
Developed a working knowledge of medical terminology.
- Health System, 3%
Calculated and prepared monthly accrual reports for the health system's revenue cycle's expense budget.
- HIPAA, 3%
Assisted in releasing PHI in accordance with HIPAA laws and regulations.
- Surgery, 2%
Created an organized, user-friendly system of patient information recording that improved the overall front-end operation of Same Day Surgery.
Most patient liaisons use their skills in "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential patient liaison responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a patient liaison to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Patient liaisons often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained communication with physicians and social workers in order to coordinate proper home health care plans for individual patients. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of patient liaisons is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday patient liaison duties, as "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "improved customer satisfaction scores and reduced complaints using customer satisfaction phone calls and staff education. "
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what patient liaisons do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to patient liaison responsibilities because "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical patient liaison tasks: "function as a diplomatic liaison with hospitals, customers, and potential clients through strong interpersonal skills and customer service. "
Listening skills. A commonly-found skill in patient liaison job descriptions, "listening skills" is essential to what patient liaisons do. Patient liaison responsibilities rely on this skill because "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." You can also see how patient liaison duties rely on listening skills in this resume example: "communicated with providers to initiate/coordinate outpatient services needs for members. "
Patience. Lastly, "patience" is an important element of what a patient liaison does. Patient liaison responsibilities require this skill because "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." This resume example highlights how patient liaison duties rely on this skill: "practiced compassion, patience and excellent communication skills on a daily basics. "
The three companies that hire the most patient liaisons are:
- Geisinger Medical Center84 patient liaisons jobs
- Houston Methodist27 patient liaisons jobs
- Northwestern Medicine19 patient liaisons jobs
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Compare different patient liaisons
Patient liaison vs. Medical office administrator
A medical office administrator is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties within a health care institution, supplying physicians and medical professionals with patients' information, and coordinating with insurance companies. Medical office administrators handle the information and data management system to ensure the accuracy of patients' details, medical history, and treatment plans. They also schedule doctor appointments and cancellations, as well as monitoring the inventory of medical supplies. A medical office administrator submits payment reports, respond to patients' inquiries and concerns, and process billing disputes.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a patient liaison are more likely to require skills like "health system," "surgery," "home health," and "excellent interpersonal." On the other hand, a job as a medical office administrator requires skills like "patient care," "provides administrative support," "office equipment," and "medical insurance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Medical office administrators really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $34,449. Comparatively, patient liaisons tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,280.medical office administrators tend to reach similar levels of education than patient liaisons. In fact, medical office administrators are 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Patient liaison vs. Scheduling coordinator
A scheduling coordinator is responsible for arranging the calendars and managing the appointments of a senior employee. Scheduling coordinators keep a record of meetings, reminding the key personnel as well as other participants of any schedule adjustments and cancellations. They are also responsible for booking venues for events and processing travel arrangements, following the specifications of the head personnel. A scheduling coordinator must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent communication and organization skills to answer schedule queries and perform administrative tasks as needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real patient liaison resumes. While patient liaison responsibilities can utilize skills like "health system," "patient flow," "excellent interpersonal," and "social work," scheduling coordinators use skills like "patient care," "payroll," "office equipment," and "schedule changes."
On average, scheduling coordinators earn a higher salary than patient liaisons. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, scheduling coordinators earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $35,624. Whereas patient liaisons have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,280.In general, scheduling coordinators achieve similar levels of education than patient liaisons. They're 3.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient liaison vs. Registration coordinator
A registration coordinator is in charge of organizing and overseeing the registration procedures in programs and projects. Their duties primarily depend on their industry or place of employment. Still, it typically includes coordinating staff, managing the budgets and schedules, setting goals and guidelines, liaising with external parties, and developing strategies to optimize operations. Furthermore, a registration coordinator must monitor the progress of all efforts, resolve issues and concerns, and enforce the company's policies and regulations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, patient liaisons are more likely to have skills like "health system," "home health," "excellent interpersonal," and "social work." But a registration coordinator is more likely to have skills like "powerpoint," "patient care," "strong customer service," and "registration process."
Most registration coordinators achieve a similar degree level compared to patient liaisons. For example, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient liaison vs. Medication coordinator
A medication care coordinator communicates on the job with basic knowledge of medical terminology and human anatomy to ensure that patient medication plans are correct. Medication care coordinators establish relationships with healthcare clinic partners. They serve as liaisons between pharmacies and patients. Their skills to acquire include knowledge and experience in patient care, customer service, medical standards, and treatment plans. They should also develop strong communication skills, attention to detail, and patient relations.
Types of patient liaison
Updated January 8, 2025
