Patient representative vs patient liaison

The differences between patient representatives and patient liaisons 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 representative and a patient liaison. Additionally, a patient representative has an average salary of $32,469, which is higher than the $32,314 average annual salary of a patient liaison.

The top three skills for a patient representative include patients, check-in and medical terminology. The most important skills for a patient liaison are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Patient representative vs patient liaison overview

	Patient Representative	Patient Liaison
Yearly salary	$32,469	$32,314
Hourly rate	$15.61	$15.54
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	137,803	84,302
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient representative do?

A patient representative is responsible for assisting the patients with their health care needs by identifying their medical concerns, assessing their medical history, and referring them to the appropriate physicians or other medical professionals for immediate treatments and further examinations. Patient representatives verify the patients' insurance information, guiding them on filling out medical forms, processing payments for medical services, and updating them for the release of medical results. A patient representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when responding to patient's inquiries and concerns timely and accurately, and performing additional administrative and clerical tasks as needed.

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 representative vs patient liaison salary

Patient representatives and patient liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Representative	Patient Liaison
Average salary	$32,469	$32,314
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between patient representative and patient liaison education

There are a few differences between a patient representative and a patient liaison in terms of educational background:

	Patient Representative	Patient Liaison
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient representative vs patient liaison demographics

Here are the differences between patient representatives' and patient liaisons' demographics:

	Patient Representative	Patient Liaison
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 16.2% Female, 83.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 5.8% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient representative and patient liaison duties and responsibilities

Patient representative example responsibilities.

Code preoperative patients' surgical procedures according to surgeon's operative order by using CPT code book.
Develop physical and psychological rehabilitation programs for head trauma patients.
Assist uninsured and under-insure hospital patients in applying for government benefits including Medicaid and charity care programs.
Give patients preparations, take insurance information, and enter all necessary and relevant information into computer system.
Schedule appointments -Answered phones -provide care and compassion for patients -handle payments and maintain a proper transaction report daily
Greet patients upon arrival and pre-register visit ensuring patient does not have duplicate medical records.

Patient liaison example responsibilities.

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.

Patient representative vs patient liaison skills

Common patient representative skills

Patients, 28%
Check-In, 8%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Patient Demographics, 3%

Common patient liaison skills

Patients, 37%
Customer Service, 16%
Medical Terminology, 4%
Health System, 3%
HIPAA, 3%
Surgery, 2%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Representative
Patient Representative vs Patient Liaison

Updated January 8, 2025

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