What does a Patient Coordinator do?
A patient coordinator functions as the primary point of contact between health care professionals and patients in a medical facility. They mostly perform administrative tasks such as greeting visitors, answering calls, responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments, processing payments, gathering information, and keeping records. Moreover, they assist in filling out forms, escorting patients to different rooms or offices, and setting treatment plans. Most importantly, they discuss and share necessary information with patients and families regarding medications, procedures, and proceeding care according to a physician's assessment.
Patient coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient coordinator resumes:
- Comply with HIPAA regulations by discreetly and professionally handling all patients private medical information.
- Gather personal plus insurance information and perform thorough insurance breakdowns for patients.
- Communicate directly with patients to obtain initial patient information and respond to inquiries.
- Process and update HIPAA relate paperwork and other require institutional forms as necessary.
- Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
- Respond in writing to all grievances in accordance with CMS and DNV guidelines.
- Enter information into MediTech and make sure signatures are obtain.
- Order charts and immunization records from records storage.
- Work A/R report on daily basis.
- Prepare weekly detail logs and status reports on A/R for supervisor.
- Create PowerPoint presentations and posters.
- Maintain and optimize provider schedules, and perform prior-authorizations for necessary medication and radiology examinations.
- Process radiology referrals, and obtain all necessary information from the patient and provider to ensure accuracy and completeness of referral.
Patient coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Patient Coordinators are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Patience, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Patient Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 30%
Verified patient insurance eligibility prior to appointments and also prepared patient charts for approximately 20 patients daily.
- Customer Service, 11%
Championed efforts to dramatically increase level of customer service; personally demonstrated how to deliver exceptional service throughout all patient interactions.
- Patient Care, 6%
Maintain heavy communications with patients, referring physicians, and other faculty and staff regarding patient care and administrative responsibilities.
- Patient Flow, 5%
Work with clinical team to effectively manage daily patient flow, providing communication and information to the appropriate individuals.
- Excellent Organizational, 4%
Keep records orderly and prioritizing tasks with excellent organizational skills.
- Check-In, 3%
Greeted patients at check-in, ensuring accurate demographic and insurance information.
"patients," "customer service," and "patient care" are among the most common skills that patient coordinators use at work. You can find even more patient coordinator responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a patient coordinator to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." Patient coordinators often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated with pcp offices to collect pertinent information for new patients to file insurance claims. "
Patience. Many patient coordinator duties rely on patience. "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers.," so a patient coordinator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways patient coordinator responsibilities rely on patience: "maintain a high degree of patience, and patient confidentiality. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of patient coordinators is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday patient coordinator duties, as "representatives must determine solutions to customers’ problems." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "verified insurance benefits; submitted claims both electronically and manually; and resolved insurance issues. "
Communication skills. A big part of what patient coordinators do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to patient coordinator responsibilities because "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical patient coordinator tasks: "receive in coming telecommunications concerning scheduling, appointment confirmations, medical transcripts, and insurance claims. "
Interpersonal skills. Lastly, "interpersonal skills" is an important element of what a patient coordinator does. Patient coordinator responsibilities require this skill because "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." This resume example highlights how patient coordinator duties rely on this skill: "provide a high level of customer service and client relations based on outstanding communication and interpersonal skills to maintain customer satisfaction. "
The three companies that hire the most patient coordinators are:
- Alliance HealthCare Services
179 patient coordinators jobs
- Great Expressions Dental Centers90 patient coordinators jobs
- Athletico80 patient coordinators jobs
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Compare different patient coordinators
Patient coordinator vs. Patient representative
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, patient coordinator responsibilities require skills like "medical history," "taking care," "scheduling patient appointments," and "cash control." Meanwhile a typical patient representative has skills in areas such as "strong customer service," "excellent interpersonal," "emr," and "home health." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Patient representatives tend to make the most money working in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $34,572. In contrast, patient coordinators make the biggest average salary, $33,131, in the health care industry.patient representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than patient coordinators. In fact, patient representatives are 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Patient coordinator vs. Patient liaison
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.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real patient coordinator resumes. While patient coordinator responsibilities can utilize skills like "patient care," "excellent organizational," "check-in," and "pet," patient liaisons use skills like "health system," "surgery," "home health," and "excellent interpersonal."
Patient liaisons may earn a lower salary than patient coordinators, but patient liaisons earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,280. On the other hand, patient coordinators receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,131.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Patient liaisons tend to reach similar levels of education than patient coordinators. In fact, they're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient coordinator vs. Patient registrar
A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.
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 coordinator resumes include skills like "excellent organizational," "check-in," "patient satisfaction," and "medical history," whereas a patient registrar is more likely to list skills in "pbx," "insurance eligibility," "health insurance," and "surgery. "
Patient registrars make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $33,106. On the other hand, patient coordinators are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $33,131.Most patient registrars achieve a similar degree level compared to patient coordinators. For example, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient coordinator vs. Patient care specialist
A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between patient coordinators and patient care specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a patient coordinator might have more use for skills like "excellent organizational," "check-in," "pet," and "taking care." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of patient care specialists require skills like "cpr," "emr," "departmental policies," and "home health. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for patient care specialists, with average annual pay of $32,483. Comparatively, the highest patient coordinator annual salary comes from the health care industry.patient care specialists reach similar levels of education compared to patient coordinators, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of patient coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025
