Patient relations coordinator vs patient advocate

The differences between patient relations coordinators and patient advocates 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 relations coordinator and a patient advocate. Additionally, a patient relations coordinator has an average salary of $45,689, which is higher than the $36,325 average annual salary of a patient advocate.

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

Patient relations coordinator vs patient advocate overview

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Patient Advocate
Yearly salary	$45,689	$36,325
Hourly rate	$21.97	$17.46
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	103,373	88,778
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient relations coordinator do?

Patient Relations Coordinators are responsible for liaising for patients and family members with medical staff regarding patient progress and health facility procedures. Their duties include greeting patients and visitors, checking patient charts, inspecting cause of delay, conducting professional medical referrals, and managing family and patients' roundings log. They also provide hospital directions, handle phone calls, and maintain visitor control. Patient relations coordinators work to resolve any patient and family complaints and ensure all work activities adhere to media information policies and hospital confidentiality.

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.

Patient relations coordinator vs patient advocate salary

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

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Patient Advocate
Average salary	$45,689	$36,325
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $56,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Cognizant
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between patient relations coordinator and patient advocate education

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

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

Patient relations coordinator vs patient advocate demographics

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

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Patient Advocate
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient relations coordinator and patient advocate duties and responsibilities

Patient relations coordinator example 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.
Conduct bi-monthly resident council meetings in the transitional care unit i.e., rehabilitation and hospice units.
Verify insurance benefits, and maintain various information and data bases of patient information using the HIPPA guidelines.

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.

Patient relations coordinator vs patient advocate skills

Common patient relations coordinator skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 12%
Patient Flow, 9%
Patient Relations, 6%
Patient Registration, 5%
Patient Charges, 5%

Common patient advocate skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Relations Coordinator
Patient Relations Coordinator vs Patient Advocate

Updated January 8, 2025

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