Healthcare systems and hospital bills can be as mysterious and scary as one’s first visit to the dentist. Thankfully, a Patient Advocate helps healthcare clients navigate their journey toward wellness. They liaise between patients and entities that contribute to fulfilling one’s healthcare needs, inclu... Continue Reading
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Healthcare systems and hospital bills can be as mysterious and scary as one’s first visit to the dentist. Thankfully, a Patient Advocate helps healthcare clients navigate their journey toward wellness. They liaise between patients and entities that contribute to fulfilling one’s healthcare needs, including healthcare providers, insurance companies and lawyers. They also work in an educational capacity, guiding the community on disease prevention and promoting healthy living habits.
What are the typical responsibilities of a Patient Advocate?
A Patient Advocate would typically need to:
While the specific work environment of a Patient Advocate depends on their employer, their office workstations are typically equipped with computers and telephones due to the bureaucratic and highly communicative and research-based nature of their job responsibilities. Other than in their offices, Patient Advocates may also spend some time in healthcare facilities looking after patients or liaising with their healthcare team.
You will need to occasionally travel to conduct fieldwork, collect data on current trends and potential threats, meet patients, physicians or other healthcare providers and community members, and conduct or attend educational workshops that promote healthy living.
Patient Advocates typically work from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Working hours may vary if a health emergency requires their services immediately. Some facilities may use the shift system, with each shift up to 8 or 12 hours. Some employers may also mandate overnight and weekend shifts to factor in patients’ schedules.
Patient Advocates may choose between full-time and part-time work. They may also consider freelance work opportunities or part-time jobs.
Finding a new job might seem challenging. Patient Advocates may boost their job search by asking their network for referrals, contacting companies directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, and inquiring at staffing agencies.
Patient Advocates are generally employed by:
Healthcare associations provide unparalleled networking and educational opportunities. They offer all the certification courses members will need throughout their professional careers. Affiliated Patient Advocates may attend conventions, seminars, and dinners frequented by peers, mentors, and other industry leaders. The events help them keep up with the latest breakthroughs and developments in the field, including plum jobs.
Having worked or interned in the healthcare sector, such as in the field of nursing, can help you enter the field of professional patient advocacy. Healthcare experience teaches you critical skills and boosts your credibility and employability. It also enables you to network with medical professionals, from doctors to medical assistants, who can support you in critical decision-making and coping with challenges and multiple cases.
To gain more specialised experience, volunteer with a non-profit patient advocacy group or offer your services as a Patient Advocate in your local hospital to help those in your community. Read about the profession and interview or job shadow experts in patient advocacy to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers.
You will gain optimal benefit from your tasks outside of the classroom when they line up perfectly with your lessons inside it. You may get to hear countless stories from more experienced professionals and obtain valuable hands-on experience when they manage to turn seemingly routine incidents into unique learning moments. With some essential skills and experience, you may reach out to healthcare agencies for placement opportunities.
Another way to acquire experience is to enrol in an online or offline training program in patient advocacy that mandates internships in hospitals, clinics or healthcare centres. Membership in specific associations may also open networking and internship opportunities for aspiring Patient Advocates to acquire initial experience.
Keep in mind that any experience in a voluntary or paid job that requires you to communicate with various stakeholders helps prepare you for patient advocacy since communication with diverse participants in the healthcare process will be central to your work.
Since patient advocacy is an emerging field, no mandatory educational requirements have been laid out yet. However, it is helpful for aspiring Patient Advocates to have acquired an associate or bachelor’s degree in the natural sciences, specifically biology or chemistry, or the social sciences, such as social work or sociology, or health-related areas, such as nursing, medical assistance, health administration, or healthcare management, or even law. Even a certificate program in patient advocacy, healthcare or health administration may help prove your interest and abilities in the field.
While aspirants may approach the career of patient advocacy from diverse educational backgrounds or professions, such as nursing, community social work or chaplaincy, academic qualifications or work experience in healthcare allow you to build a thorough understanding of the healthcare system. You also develop the medical know-how and sensitivity to communicate diagnoses and treatment plans to patients and caregivers.
Master’s degree programs specific to health advocacy may be found but are not common. A viable option is to undertake graduate certificate programs in patient advocacy to supplement an MBA (Master of Business Administration) or MHA (Master of Health Administration) degree in healthcare management. Any relevant program you follow must ideally include courses in the basics of the healthcare system, case management, healthcare-related law, finance, ethics, and communication. Degree programs typically offer a blend of classroom lectures and a practicum to allow students to gain in patient advocacy in healthcare settings.
Take English, biology, chemistry, business, and applied mathematics classes to gain admission into a top-tier college.
Given the newness of the field, formal certification requirements that demonstrate a Patient Advocate’s competence in a skill set are not yet well-defined. However, patient advocacy is progressing towards establishing formal standards to encourage competency and professionalism.
Being certified by an objective and reputed organisation can help you stand out in a competitive job market, carry a significant salary premium of up to 18 per cent, increase your chances of advancement, and allow you to become an independent consultant. Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.
Check if your location offers credentials in patient advocacy and case management to introduce professionals with some healthcare experience to patient advocacy. Given the nature of your job, it is useful to acquire certification in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and first-aid.
Since this is an evolving field, licensing is not yet mandatory. Typically, it requires an application, processing fees, an examination, and relevant education and experience. Individual government entities conduct the licensing process. Check with local or national healthcare or patient advocacy organisations to determine licensure requirements.
An employment background check can include but is not limited to a person’s work history, education, credit history, motor vehicle reports (MVRs), criminal record, medical history, use of social media, and drug screening.
Performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years.
Patient Advocates typically have a background in nursing, medical assistance, social work, law, or a related field. You may begin at entry level as a patient liaison or customer service representative, but with more experience, you may advance to higher positions such as Patient Advocate Coordinator or Manager with greater responsibility. Career progression may also take place through taking on greater responsibilities, including serving on a committee or task force. You may also advance into leadership or executive roles, such as Chief Operating Officer or Chief Executive Officer.
Patient Advocates with past exposure to healthcare may eventually choose to work at hospitals in some other capacity. Some may acquire a nursing degree or take up social work. Some will continue to work in patient advocacy for the job satisfaction it brings.
You may launch your practice as a Private Patient Care Advocate and work as a self-employed entrepreneur. Patients or their family members may hire you directly in such a case. In addition to patient advocacy, you will run your business, market your services and attract clients.
Candidates with a bachelor’s degree or higher in healthcare management, business or social work, relevant professional experience through work or internships, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills have the best job prospects.
Continuing professional development (CPD) will help an active Patient Advocate build personal skills and proficiency through work-based learning, a professional activity, formal education, or self-directed learning. It allows you to upskill and update your knowledge of the healthcare sector continually.
On-the-job training that many employers provide will help new Patient Advocates adapt to specific organisational policies and procedures as well as the systems and software in use.
You may acquire a master’s degree in nursing leadership and management or an MBA (Master of Business Management) in healthcare management to update your skills and contacts. You may find online options to complete your master’s degree. If you already possess a master’s degree, you may further specialise with a certificate in nursing leadership & management that typically follows a master’s degree in nursing.
You will need to keep your continuing education (CE) credits up to date to retain the validity of any certification or license you hold. CE courses will also keep you informed of recent trends in the industry and technological and legislative developments to maintain your competitive advantage in the workplace.
Take online or in-person courses to learn or refresh your knowledge of best practices for making healthy lifestyle choices so that you can educate patients and their caregivers and the community. You can also participate in webinars, seminars, conferences or workshops on specific topics, such as a particular disease, to better equip yourselves for patient advocacy.
The History of Patient Advocates
The concept of an individual facilitating the interaction between patients and healthcare workers is hardly new, given that nurses, social workers, missionaries and other clergy served as counsellors to those afflicted by a crisis or chronic illness or old age. However, patient advocacy as a professional field emerged in the 1970s, when the rights of the patient were often ignored in the face of rapidly evolving modern medical practices. The formal rise of patient advocacy began to create awareness of the importance of a pro-patient mediator in the healthcare system.
Today, Patient Advocates are critical participants in healthcare provision. They are not practising physicians but are typically experienced and knowledgeable about the medical field and can view a situation objectively from the provider’s perspective as well as the receiver’s. Employing their outstanding communication skills and commitment to achieving optimal patient outcomes, they clarify healthcare-related policies and procedures to patients and their loved ones. They also help forge robust relationships between patients and caregivers and guide people in making the best decisions for their health and overall wellbeing.
Some Helpful Skills for Patient Advocacy
Patient Advocates must be able to work harmoniously with patients of varying ages, from toddlers to senior citizens, for which they must have top-notch interpersonal skills. Given the heavy caseload, strong organisational skills are necessary for the field. Proficiency in communication, a robust medical and financial vocabulary, and considerable patience are essential for Patient Advocates to represent their client’s case effectively to doctors, nurses, healthcare facilities & administrators, and insurance providers. Computer literacy is critical as you must handle administrative work, including scheduling, billing, and insurance claims.
Staying updated on trends in the healthcare industry and policy changes by the government and insurance providers is helpful for Patient Advocates to help patients evaluate various treatment options in consultation with their healthcare team. The healthcare system is slow, much like most bureaucracies, but their pace. The frustrating complexities and slow pace of healthcare systems must not deter Patient Advocates from their goals, which are securing their clients’ interests, solving their issues, and ensuring them the best possible care.
You must be passionate about educating your client and the community about healthcare practices and healthy lifestyle choices, whether in person or on telehealth calls. You must also be compassionate enough to offer to drive them to doctor’s appointments and discuss their fears and worries.
Potential Pros & Cons of Freelancing vs Full-Time Employment
Freelancing Patient Advocates have more flexible work schedules and locations. They have full ownership of the business and can select their projects and clients. However, they experience inconsistent work and cash flow, which means more responsibility, effort and risk.
On the other hand, full-time Patient Advocates have company-sponsored health benefits, insurance, and retirement plans. They have job security with a fixed, reliable source of income and guidance from their bosses. Yet, they may experience boredom due to a lack of flexibility, ownership, and variety.
When deciding between freelancing or being a full-time employee, consider the pros and cons to see what works best for you.
The pressure to understand and tackle complex healthcare systems and processes intensifies a patient’s vulnerability. Patient Advocates may not wield a magic wand to wish away troubles, but they can extend a helping hand to provide patients and their caregivers with the proper knowledge and emotional support to make optimal decisions. They safeguard patients’ rights, ensure their wishes are met, and help them destress, knowing they have a reliable companion on their path to wellness.
Patient Advocates must build objectivity and clarity of thought. Always remember that you are advocating for patients, and so you must keep only their needs and goals in mind, not yours. While working, always respect the nurse since they are also responsible for advocating for patients.
A recent study by the University of Alabama showed that Patient Advocates helped more than 6700 cancer patients in reducing costs involved in hospitalisation, emergency room visits, and admissions to intensive care facilities.
What do Patient Advocates do?
A Patient Advocate would typically need to:
Accredited
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