What Is a Patient Advocate? (And What Do They Do)

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Learn about the patient advocate career path and the role it plays in navigating patients through the healthcare system.

[Featured image] A patient advocate in blue scrubs and a stethoscope goes over some documents with a patient in a pink shirt.

The healthcare system can be confusing and overwhelming, especially for a patient dealing with a scary health diagnosis. A patient advocate acts as that person's guide and advisor by ensuring a patient gets the best and safest healthcare possible.

Learn more about the patient advocate job role, including duties, responsibilities,  skills, and salary. If the role of patient advocates interests you, discover how to make a start in this career.

What is a patient advocate?

Patient advocates help patients—and their loved ones—navigate the healthcare system in many ways, like communicating with doctors, finding legal help, working with insurance companies, and setting up tests and screenings. Because they help patients get financial, social, and legal support, they communicate with healthcare providers, insurance companies, lawyers, case managers, and employers. Patient advocates try to make the medical care process a little less complicated.

As a patient advocate, you might work in a hospital or health clinic. You may also work independently or for a small business specialising in healthcare advocacy.

What does a patient advocate do?

As a patient advocate, you'll assist medical patients from their diagnosis through their treatment, recovery, and follow-up visits. Patient advocates most commonly assist those with chronic illnesses, multiple illnesses, or life-threatening conditions.  

Your duties and responsibilities as a patient advocate might include:  

  • Setting up medical appointments and finding second opinions 

  • Helping a patient find financial and legal resources

  • Helping a patient find support groups and other types of support

  • Negotiating medical bills and reviewing them to ensure accuracy 

  • Resolving disputes between patients and their insurance companies

  • Easing  conflicts between patients and their healthcare providers

  • Communicating with doctors, nurses, therapists, and insurance providers on a patient's behalf 

  • Offering explanations  to patients, ranging from medical bills to diagnostic information 

  • Helping patients navigate their treatment and care options 

  • Keeping notes of what happens during medical visits

  • Expressing a patient's wishes and needs  when they can't speak for themselves 

  • Helping patients fill out forms and applications 

  • Supporting patients' rights 

  • Reading medical charts, bills, and documents 

Questions patients might have

As a patient advocate, you might answer questions like how to travel between appointments, how to find a different doctor or hospital for a second opinion, where to get diagnosis and treatment information, how to access medical care, and where to find emotional support.

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Patient advocate salary 

According to Indeed, a patient advocate makes, on average, £25,086 annually in the UK, as reported by user salaries [1]. As you gain more experience in the patient advocate role, you might advance to a higher-paying position like patient advocate coordinator or manager.

 

Where do patient advocates work? 

Patient advocates can find jobs in numerous locations, from small businesses to government agencies. Typical work settings for patient advocates include:  

  • Hospitals: Typically keeping patient advocates on staff, hospitals advocate for patients during a hospital stay.

  • Nursing homes: Many nursing homes and care homes also have patient advocates on staff.

  • Insurance companies: Like hospitals, many health insurance companies also provide patient advocates to help explain health coverage and billing to customers.

  • Third-sector organisations: Some third-sector organisations, such as charities and community agencies, provide patient advocates for people in need. While some of these organisations rely on volunteers, others may have patient advocates on staff.

  • Independent patient advocacy businesses: As the need for patient advocates grows, some people work as independent contractors, setting up small businesses that help patients navigate the healthcare system. Patients can find private patient advocates through online directories.

  • Government agencies: Some governmental agencies hire patient advocates. These include social care services available through local councils. 

Patient advocate roles and titles  

When looking for a patient advocate job, you might find one with a different title.  Other potential titles for this role might include:

Health advocate, care manager, medical support worker, patient liaison, or health care representative

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Essential patient advocate skills

As a patient advocate, you may have to explain medical terms, billing, insurance, and more to patients in an understandable way. Good communication skills, such as the ability to listen, communicate clearly, and read body language and other nonverbal cues, may help you in your role. 

Besides communication and active listening, you may benefit from  the following workplace skills:

  • Decision-making: Patient advocacy involves helping patients decide about insurance coverage, treatment options, and more.

  • Interpersonal skills: On any given day, a patient advocate might interact with patients and their loved ones, doctors, nurses, other healthcare staff, receptionists, office managers, insurance companies, lawyers, and other professionals. Good interpersonal skills help when communicating with many types of people.

  • Empathy and compassion: Being a patient advocate involves helping patients and their loved ones get through difficult situations, so empathy and compassion will likely play a key role in your skill set.

  • Organisational skills: Staying organised can help you keep information separate when working with multiple patients simultaneously. Good organisation can also help you keep up with appointments, medical bills, meetings, etc. 

How to become a patient advocate

You don't have to follow a specific path to get a patient advocate job. Employers may set different educational requirements; some offer traineeships or work placement opportunities. Others may require job experience in areas like nursing or medical billing. To become a patient advocate, a few common steps may help:

Consider getting a qualification.

The education you need to become a patient advocate depends on the organisation. While some employers may offer training as a traineeship or job placement, others may require outside training. You can gain skills that help prepare you for a job as a patient advocate through a qualification. Depending on the type of job you hope to get, you might consider the following qualifications:

Level 2 Award in Independent Advocacy: This course offers an introduction to advocacy for people who may want to become a paid advocate or who may want to volunteer in the role. Most learners complete this award within two to 12 weeks, and the cost totals £250 plus VAT.

Level 4 Qualification - Professional Practice in Independent Advocacy: This qualification goes beyond the Level 2 Award and offers specific training focused on advocacy for children and adults. It also addresses advocacy regarding mental health and mental capacity. Most learners complete this certificate within 12 to 18 months, and the cost totals £1,295.

Build your skills.

Having the right skills can help you achieve success in your role as a patient advocate. In addition to improving your decision-making, empathy, interpersonal, and organisational skills, consider building one or more of these skills:

  • Attention to detail

  • Basic computer skills

  • Customer service

  • Collaboration and teamwork

  • Public speaking

  • Research skills

Next steps as a patient advocate

Working as a patient advocate could be rewarding if you have excellent people skills, attention to detail, and are very organised. You don’t need a high level of education to access this career, but you may need some specialist qualifications. 

A grasp of medical terminology might make you a more sought-after job candidate for some patient advocate employers. The Medical Terminology Specialisation offered by Rice University on Coursera covers all parts of the body over three separate courses. You'll also learn about common roots, prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviations used in medical language, and you'll become familiar with medical charts and the templates used to create them. This class is available to beginner-level students, and it takes about one month to complete, with a time commitment of 10 hours per week.    

Article sources

  1. Indeed. "Patient advocate salary in the United Kingdom, https://uk.indeed.com/ career/patient-advocate/salaries?from=top_sb." Accessed 30 July 2024. 

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