A patient care coordinator helps patients navigate healthcare — they manage referrals, arrange support services, serve as a liaison between providers, and much more. This is a great career track if you want to be a resource for patients and their families. Being highly organized, friendly, and cooperative are essential qualities in this role.
While medicine attempts to treat disease, many root causes of illness are linked to social determinants of health (SDOH), or the circumstances of patients’ lives. Community, socioeconomic factors, geographic location, cultural values, and other social factors impact between 30% and 55% of health outcomes.
Care coordinators — also called patient service coordinators — understand SDOH and their impact on patients. This role was developed to address health and promote the best outcomes for patients with fewer resources than others. A patient coordinator may work in any of the following healthcare settings:
- Acute care hospitals
- Children’s hospitals
- Psychiatric hospitals
- Primary care practices
- Home health agencies
What Is Care Coordination?
Care coordination is the organization of services and information so that patients’ needs are met. A single patient may be followed by a primary care provider as well as several specialists, health service providers, a case worker, a home health nurse, and many others. This complexity means that when care is not coordinated, failures in communication and follow-through can lead to lapses.
Care coordination helps ensure that the patient’s needs remain central, and every member of the care team is involved in coordinating care at some level. There are two types of care coordination:
- Broad: Teamwork, medication management, health information technology, and care management.
- Specific: Communicating knowledge across the care team, monitoring and follow-up, linking patients to resources, and helping with care transitions.
Why Is Care Coordination Important?
The need for care coordination arises from a healthcare system that has become increasingly complex and fragmented. Different providers may organize information differently, patients often don’t know why they’re being referred to a specialist, and health data can be lost when it’s not communicated.
For example, a primary care provider may use a different electronic health system (EHR) than a specialist, creating a potential problem with communication. If this information is lost, the specialist may not know why the patient was referred, or they may miss a key piece of history. In this case, proper care coordination may involve faxing essential health data to the specialist, so that information can be input manually into their system.
What Does a Patient Care Coordinator Do?
Care coordinators assess patient needs, create individualized care plans, and track progress over time. They also manage transitions between care settings, such as from a hospital to home health, to make sure patients don’t fall through the cracks. A patient coordinator is especially vital for people with chronic illnesses, multiple providers, or socioeconomic barriers to care.
Patient Service Coordinator Job Duties
- Intake visits and assessments to determine a patient’s health status and potential needs
- Planning a patient’s discharge from acute care to home health
- Calling specialists to determine whether they’ll accept a patient’s insurance
- Investigating a patient’s post-acute facility options given their finances, insurance coverage, and Medicare/Medicaid status
- Coordinating family planning sessions to determine a new plan of care
- Educating patients and families about their facility and service options
- Documenting care plans and outcomes in the EHR
Pros and Cons of a Career in Care Coordination
What might you like or dislike about being a patient coordinator? While that depends on your personal preferences, check out some potential pros and cons of this field.
Pros:
- Potential to connect with patients and their families, providing support during difficult times
- Many specialty options, depending on your preferred population of patients
- Schedules may offer flexibility, depending on the facility and role
Cons:
- Can be emotionally taxing to juggle many people’s needs at once
- Working within the healthcare system can be frustrating, and you may feel that you haven’t done enough
- High volume of paperwork and charting, pulling you away from patient care
Patient Care Coordinator Salary and Job Outlook
A patient service coordinator typically makes between $39,000 and $85,000 annually. What you make will depend on your education, experience, facility, location, and more. As healthcare grows more complex, there will likely be a greater need for care coordinators to help patients navigate and access essential care.
3 Steps to Work in Patient Care Coordination
Unlike clinical roles like registered nurse (RN) and medical doctor (MD), there’s no specific degree track for this role. Employers may have different requirements that depend on the setting, so review job postings in your area to see what facilities are looking for. Here’s a general outline of the steps to take to begin a career in care coordination:
Step 1: Earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree
What degree is needed for patient care coordination? A person can hold a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, social work, care coordination, or an allied health field. A bachelor’s degree can open more doors, but an associate’s degree may be enough for entry-level positions.
Step 2: Complete an Internship
Hands-on experience can help you gain practical skills and build out your resume. Look for internships, volunteer opportunities, or entry-level healthcare positions that let you practice communication, planning, and patient advocacy. The company you intern with could be a potential setting for your first role.
Step 3: Apply for Roles
Once you complete your education and gain experience, apply for positions in hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, or home health agencies. Tailor your resume to highlight organizational skills, patient advocacy, and knowledge of care systems.
Optional Step 4: Earn a Certification
While not always required, certification can help you stand out and advance in care coordination. Depending on your background, one or more of these credentials could benefit your career:
- Certified Case Manager (CCM) from the Commission for Case Manager Certification
- Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) from the National Association for Healthcare Quality
Patient Service Coordinator FAQ
Is a care coordinator the same as a receptionist?
No, a receptionist focuses on front desk duties like scheduling, phone calls, and greeting patients. Care coordination focuses on helping to manage a patient’s journey through the healthcare system.
Care coordinator vs. case manager: What’s the difference?
The roles overlap, but there are distinctions. A patient service coordinator typically works directly with people to help them understand their treatment plan, schedule follow-ups, and connect with resources. A case manager takes a broader view, managing more complex cases and ensuring long-term needs are met. Case management roles are more likely to require a nursing or social work license.
Do patient care coordinators need to be nurses?
No. Some care coordinators are registered nurses, and these professionals are more commonly called nurse navigators. Coordinators can also come from backgrounds in healthcare administration, social work, or public health. Employers usually want candidates with strong communication skills, knowledge of healthcare systems, and a degree in a related field.
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