How To Become A Patient Relations Coordinator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a patient relations coordinator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Sonja Armbruster

A Patient Relations Coordinator is tasked with overseeing the activities of the patient relations department. He/She determines the patient relations representative to handle a case and oversee incoming calls, emails, and walk-ins. He/She provides independent oversight for cases like assistance with appointment access, lost belongings, and informational requests that come through the department. Besides that, he/she investigates and resolves complaints and other feedback. Additionally, he/she develops and maintains routine correspondence with patients or families throughout the review process.

Although a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent is required for this role, most employers prefer a bachelor's degree in a healthcare field. Applicants must possess communication, customer service, interpersonal, conflict resolution, analytical, multitasking, and organization skills. You may be required to undergo OSHA, HIPAA, and Infection Control training annually. You must be proficient in Microsoft Office. These experts earn an average annual salary of $36,382. This falls between $24,000 and $55,000.

What's a day at work look like for a patient relations coordinator?

Sonja Armbruster

Health Sciences Educator, Wichita State University

The pandemic has re-defined what it even means to have a "day at work". I'm writing this response from my home office. Work in public health jobs can involve so many kinds of roles and responsibilities. The only thing I can guarantee is that the successful person seeking a career in public will be constantly curious and constantly learning. There are many public health jobs that are clearly defined with a set of protocols and software and office time that is scripted. Many more public health jobs require learning something new about community members, community partners, the system (including the department/organization one works for), the latest science and political realities that enable and constrain public health work. A day at work will involve continuously learning and seeking to understand new connections.

ScorePatient Relations CoordinatorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,689

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 7.04%

Black or African American 12.99%

Hispanic or Latino 21.56%

Unknown 5.19%

White 52.56%

Gender

female 88.27%

male 11.73%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a patient relations coordinator

Explore patient relations coordinator education requirements

Most common patient relations coordinator degrees

Bachelor's

50.8 %

Associate

17.2 %

High School Diploma

13.6 %

Start to develop specific patient relations coordinator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	19.57%
Customer Service	12.08%
Patient Flow	8.58%
Patient Relations	6.17%
Patient Registration	5.01%

Complete relevant patient relations coordinator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New patient relations coordinators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a patient relations coordinator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real patient relations coordinator resumes.

Research patient relations coordinator duties and responsibilities

Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Contribute to overall patient satisfaction by maintaining positive relationships and providing patients and visitors with the best experience possible.
Coordinate patient flow through proper scheduling procedures base on patients dental needs in conjunction with doctor and hygienist availability.
Update patients records in EMR system.

Prepare your patient relations coordinator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your patient relations coordinator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a patient relations coordinator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable patient relations coordinator resume templates

Build a professional patient relations coordinator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your patient relations coordinator resume.

Apply for patient relations coordinator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a patient relations coordinator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do patient relations coordinators rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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1 star

Patient relations coordinator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Putting that patient/customet first and directing (directions) that person to their Doctors office and setting or cancelling their appointments, just helping people.

Cons

There's nothing to dislike.