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

The health care system can be confusing and overwhelming, especially when a patient is also dealing with a scary health diagnosis. A patient advocate works as that person's guide, but they're more than that. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement calls patient advocates supporters, believers, sponsors, promoters, campaigners, backers, and spokespeople.

Learn more about the patient advocate job, including duties and responsibilities, required human skills, and how to become one.

What is a patient advocate?

Patient advocates help patients—and their loved ones — navigate the health care system in many ways, like communicating with doctors, finding legal help, working with insurance companies, and setting up tests and screenings. They assist with many aspects of a patient's medical care to make it a little less complicated. 

Because a patient advocate also helps patients receive financial, social, and legal support, they also correspond with health care providers, insurance companies, lawyers, case managers, and employers. They advocate for the patient however they may need. Sometimes, social workers or loved ones fill the role of a patient advocate.

In recent years, hospitals and other health care facilities have started to add professional staff members to fill the void. Patient advocates may also work independently or for small businesses specializing in health care advocacy.

What does a patient advocate do?

A patient advocate's duties and responsibilities are plentiful. Still, ultimately, this rewarding career gives you the tools to ensure a patient is taken care of 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.  

Duties and responsibilities include:  

• Setting up medical appointments and finding second opinions 

• Helping a patient find financial and legal resources

• Assisting a patient find support groups and other social support

• Negotiating medical bills and reviewing them ensure they're accurate

• Resolving disputes between patients and their insurance companies

• Resolving conflicts between patients and their health care providers

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

• Explaining things to patients, ranging from medical bills to information on a diagnosis 

• Helping patients navigate their treatment and care options 

• Keeping notes of what happens during medical visits

• Ensuring a patient's needs and wishes are met 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, diagnoses and treatment information, how to pay for their medical care, and general support if they feel lonely or sad.

Salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, a patient advocate makes, on average, a total salary of about $45,447 a year [1]. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts all health care careers will grow at a rate of 13 percent between 2021 and 2031 due to increased demand for health care services by the Baby Boomer generation [2]. With so many people requiring even more health care, the need for patient advocates should also grow.  

Where do patient advocates work? 

Patient advocates can find jobs in numerous locations, from small businesses to hospitals. As the health care system grows more complicated and the American population ages, the need for patient advocates is likely to increase. Here's where you'll find patient advocate jobs:  

• Hospitals: Hospitals typically keep patient advocates on staff. They are available to all patients during a hospital stay and then remain in contact for a time after discharge.

• Nursing homes: Many nursing homes, senior living homes, and assisted living facilities also have patient advocates.

• Insurance companies: Like hospitals, many insurance companies also have patient advocates available to you. Even Medicare hires people to fill these roles.

• Health care advocacy nonprofits: There are some nonprofit organizations set up to provide patient advocates for people in need. While some rely on volunteers, others may hire professional patient advocates to have on staff.

• Independent patient advocacy businesses: As the need for patient advocates grows, some people are working as independent contractors or setting up small businesses that deal solely with helping patients navigate the health care system. There are even directories online that help patients find private patient advocates.

• Government agencies: Some governmental agencies hire patient advocates at the federal or state level. These include government-run health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. 

Patient advocate roles and titles  

While patient advocate is the most common, other potential titles might include:

Health advocate, care manager, case manager, medical advocate, patient liaison, patient representative, consumer advocate

Skills needed to be a patient advocate

To become a patient advocate, you must also possess certain human skills, particularly the ability to listen and communicate clearly. Listening to your patients and their loved ones is important, but you must also be able to pick up on body language and other nonverbal clues. A big part of the patient advocate's job involves explaining everything from medical terms to billing and insurance to patients in ways that are easy to understand. 

Besides communication and active listening, you'll want to have the following skills:

• Problem-solving skills: As a patient advocate, you'll often be involved in making decisions about everything from insurance coverage to treatment options. This means you'll need the ability to solve problems after careful thought, research, and analysis.

• Interpersonal skills: On any given day, a patient advocate will interact with patients and their loved ones, doctors, nurses, other health care staff, receptionists, office managers, insurance companies, lawyers, and other professionals. This might include resolving conflict or collaborating. You'll need to be assertive but also positive and polite.

• Empathy and compassion: Being a patient advocate is entirely about helping someone else get through a difficult situation, so you must be able to put yourself in their shoes. You must also have compassion for those who trust you to help them navigate their health care.

• Organizational skills: Staying organized is also essential. You'll likely work with multiple patients simultaneously, so you'll need to keep each one's information separate. You'll also need to keep up with appointments, medical bills, due dates, and more. 

Besides soft skills, patient advocates need to have a firm grasp of the health care system and that includes learning all the medical terminology. You'll want to know abbreviations common in the medical field, how to read health records, and more. Take Rice University's Medical Terminology Specialization to get up to speed.

How to become a patient advocate

There is no one specific path to getting a patient advocate job. Each employer may set its own educational requirements, and some may have none but offer on-the-job training. Others may require job experience in areas like nursing or medical billing. Here's a guide to navigating this career path.

1. Make sure you meet the educational requirements.

The education you'll need to become a patient advocate usually depends on the organization. Some might be fine with a high school diploma, while others want you to have at least a bachelor's degree. If you're just starting college and your goal is to get a patient advocate job in the future, you may want to choose a health care or social work field for your major.

Read more: A Guide to Online Degrees

2. Consider a certification.

While a degree is not necessarily required to become a patient advocate, some colleges and universities may offer programs or certifications to help prepare you for a career in the field. If you choose this path, you might take courses on finance, ethics, health care law, communication, the health care system, and other related topics.  

Another option is to earn the Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA) credential from the  Patient Advocate Certification Board (PACB). The certification exam is open to people with various backgrounds related to patient advocacy, ranging from those who volunteer in hospitals to physicians. Eligibility is judged on a case-by-case basis. To take the exam, you must first submit an application and show proof of identification. The certification can help open you up to more job opportunities.  

3. Build up your skills.

Any other qualifications you might need will vary depending on where you work. However, as the population grows more diverse, being bilingual, especially in Spanish, Chinese, or other widely-spoken languages, can make you more appealing to employers.

Plus, the more you know about the US health care system (which can be quite complicated!), especially finance and billing, the better. It's also essential to understand health care laws, insurance coverage, and how to use a computer.

If you already possess these skills, you'll need to work on making sure you can demonstrate them to potential employers during interviews.

Read more: Job Search Guide: Resources for Your Next Career Move

Next steps 

Get a full introduction to the US health care system with Stanford University's Introduction to Healthcare. Learn the institutions and groups that make up the system, what they do, and the interactions between them. It'll cover hospitals, insurance and financing arrangements, physician practices, and more, so you can understand the challenges of health care cost management, quality of care, and access to care.