What Does a Patient Advocate 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 by communicating with doctors, finding legal help, assisting with paperwork, and more. Several organizations in Canada, including the Canadian Medical Association and Canadian Health Advocates Incorporated, provide patient advocate services to help Canadians navigate the health care system.

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

Patient advocate roles and titles  

When you look at a patient advocate's job description, you may notice different titles. While patient advocate is the most common title, some organizations may list the job under another name, potential titles may include:

• Health advocate

• Health care advocate

• Care manager

• Case manager

• Patient navigator

• Patient liaison 

• Patient representative

When you apply for a patient advocate role with a different title, you can always check with the organization posting the job to ensure it's the same. You can also look at the duties and responsibilities to verify this information.  

What does a patient advocate do?

A patient advocate's duties and responsibilities are plentiful. This rewarding career gives you the tools to ensure a patient's care from diagnosis through treatment, recovery, and follow-up visits. Patient advocates may work with anyone who requires health care, but they more commonly assist those with chronic illnesses, multiple illnesses, or life-threatening conditions.  

Duties and responsibilities may include:  

• Setting up medical appointments and finding second opinions 

• Helping a patient find financial and legal resources

• Assisting a patient to find support groups and other social support

• Negotiating medical bills

• Resolving conflicts between patients and their health care providers

• Gathering information on specific conditions and illnesses 

• Communicating with doctors, nurses, therapists, and other 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 

• Identifying areas where more or better care is needed

• 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 in Canada earns an average base salary of $79,837 per year [1]. The need for patient advocates should rise as the population ages. The Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) predicts all health care careers will continue to grow through 2028 due to increased demand for health care services [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 work in several locations, from office settings to hospitals. As the health care system grows more complicated and the Canadian population ages, the need for patient advocates will likely increase. These are some places where you might find patient advocate jobs:  

• Medical associations: Medical associations may support and employ health advocates. Patients can connect with advocates through their services.

• Health care advocacy nonprofits: Some nonprofit organizations are 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.

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 educational requirements.

The education you'll need to become a patient advocate is usually up to the organization hiring you. Some might be fine with a secondary school diploma, while others require at least a two-year post-secondary diploma. If you're starting in a university and want to be a patient advocate job in the future, you may want to choose a health care field for your major. Good options include social work, law, finance, or counselling. Some people even earn nursing degrees. 

2. Consider a certification.

While there’s no required degree to become a patient advocate, some colleges and universities may offer programmes 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.  

3. Build up your skills. 

To become a patient advocate, you'll need certain workplace skills, particularly listening and communicating clearly. Listening to your patients and their loved ones is important; you must also be able to pick up on body language and other nonverbal cues. They may not know how to communicate their needs with you or be uncomfortable expressing discomfort or dissatisfaction. Other workplace skills you'll need include: 

• Problem-solving skills: As a patient advocate, you'll often help make complex decisions. 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. For this reason, you'll need to be assertive and command respect 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 also need 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. 

Other qualifications 

Other qualifications you might need will vary depending on where you work. However, as the population grows more diverse, being bilingual, especially speaking French, can make you more appealing to employers. Of course, the more you know about the health care system, especially finance and billing, the better. 

Employers may also seek someone who understands medical terminology well. It's also essential to understand health care laws and how to use a computer. 

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.