What does a patient relations representative do?
Public health officers assess the effectiveness of recommended risk reduction actions. The health officers focus on the overall health of communities instead of treating individual patients. These officers manage the work of staff members, statisticians, and doctors. They are responsible for developing tools to address behavioral causes of diseases, recognizing groups at threat for specific preventable diseases, and training medical teams about precautionary medicine problems. The qualifications of becoming public health administrators include efficiency and patience, stress management and problem resolution, and dependability and motivation.
Patient relations representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient relations representative resumes:
- Assist with patient inquiries, release of information, while maintaining HIPAA regulation.
- Ensure patient's HIPAA regulations are being meet by hospital staff.
- Conduct family interviews for financial aid, Medicaid or discounts to family income status.
- Collect demographic information for new and establish patients and loads it into an automate registration/ scheduling system.
- Register new patients and updates existing patient demographics by collecting detail patient information including personal and financial information.
- Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
- Register patients for schedule procedures insuring accurate information is entered into Meditech.
Patient relations representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Patient Relations Representatives are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Patient Relations Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 22%
Register new patients and updates existing patient demographics by collecting detailed patient information including personal and financial information.
- Customer Service, 14%
Represent company by providing excellent customer service to current and potential patients for a compassionate and attentive behavioral health/substance abuse agency.
- Home Health, 11%
Be accountable for the efficient coordination of the Home Health clinical staff schedules.
- Patient Care, 9%
Act as a liaison between medical and support staff for any and all issues concerning patient care.
- Medical Terminology, 9%
Charge Entry/Cash Poster: Knowledgeable with CPT/ICD-9 coding and medical terminology.
- Patient Relations, 5%
Managed daily business operations and administrative activities for the Patient Relations/Guest Services Department including supervision of selection of staff and training.
"patients," "customer service," and "home health" are among the most common skills that patient relations representatives use at work. You can find even more patient relations representative responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a patient relations representative to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what patient relations representatives do because "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Additionally, a patient relations representative resume shows how patient relations representatives use communication skills: "facilitated communication between staff and patients and within teams in service of improved patient satisfaction. "
Customer-service skills. patient relations representatives are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to patient relations representative responsibilities, because "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." A patient relations representative resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "performed data entry of authorizations and customer contacts for nyu health facilities. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain patient relations representative responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a patient relations representative rely on this skill, as "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what patient relations representatives do: "used interpersonal relationships daily to maintain open communication to ensure quality patient care. "
Listening skills. A commonly-found skill in patient relations representative job descriptions, "listening skills" is essential to what patient relations representatives do. Patient relations representative 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 relations representative duties rely on listening skills in this resume example: "communicated between patient, providers, clinic staff, internal and external customers to support patient care. "
Patience. Another skill commonly found on patient relations representative job descriptions is "patience." It can come up quite often in patient relations representative duties, since "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day patient relations representative responsibilities: "facilitate communication between patients and doctors offices, combining patience and determination to troubleshoot patient issues. "
See the full list of patient relations representative skills
The three companies that hire the most patient relations representatives are:
- Pacific Medical Centers21 patient relations representatives jobs
- Providence Health & Services19 patient relations representatives jobs
- Providence Service13 patient relations representatives jobs
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Compare different patient relations representatives
Patient relations representative vs. Patient service specialist
A patient service representative serves as a patient's primary point of contact in a hospital or clinic, ensuring accuracy and customer satisfaction. They are mainly responsible for gathering a patient's information and medical history, verifying insurance forms, managing accounts, and processing payments, arranging appointments, and even performing reminder calls and correspondence. There are also instances when a patient service representative must discuss situations to patients and their families, and even alert the doctors when a patient displays strange or unlikely behavior.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between patient relations representatives and patient service specialist. For instance, patient relations representative responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "patient relations," "patient satisfaction," and "primary care." Whereas a patient service specialist is skilled in "patient service," "physical therapy," "rehabilitation," and "office equipment." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Patient service specialists really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,449. Comparatively, patient relations representatives tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,779.patient service specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than patient relations representatives. In fact, patient service specialists are 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Patient relations representative vs. Patient service associate
A patient service associate is responsible for providing high-quality care services to the patients, ensuring their satisfaction by assisting their medical needs and concerns. Patient service associates perform administrative duties, such as helping patients to fill-out forms, updating patients' information on the database, processing payments for medical procedures, storing patients' medical files, and monitoring the adequacy of medical tools and supplies. They may also conduct basic medical operations under the supervision of a physician or a health professional, adhering to strict protocols and regulations at all times to avoid hazards and health risks.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real patient relations representative resumes. While patient relations representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "patient relations," "primary care," "good judgment," and "provide emotional support," patient service associates use skills like "patient service," "excellent organizational," "allergies," and "patient rooms."
Patient service associates earn a lower average salary than patient relations representatives. But patient service associates earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,522. Additionally, patient relations representatives earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $32,779 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Patient service associates tend to reach similar levels of education than patient relations representatives. In fact, they're 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient relations representative vs. Patient service coordinator
Patient services coordinators act as a liaison between a healthcare organization and patients. Their primary job is to provide quality service to patients. Their duties and responsibilities include fielding telephone calls from patients, assessing patients' issues, and interacting with team members, medical personnel, and employees from other departments. Also, they are responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory and hospital requirements and maintaining quality service. Patient services coordinators must also ensure to maintain their technical knowledge by participating in personal networks, attending educational workshops, and reviewing professional publications.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from patient relations representative resumes include skills like "patient relations," "primary care," "good judgment," and "provide emotional support," whereas a patient service coordinator is more likely to list skills in "patient flow," "check-in," "patient service," and "phone calls. "
Patient service coordinators earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $35,469. Comparatively, patient relations representatives have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,779.patient service coordinators typically earn similar educational levels compared to patient relations representatives. Specifically, they're 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient relations representative vs. Patient advocate
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.
Types of patient relations representative
Updated January 8, 2025
