Patient Representatives assist patients in obtaining services, understanding policies, and making health care decisions.

  • Coordinate communication between patients, family members, medical staff, administrative staff, or regulatory agencies.
  • Interview patients or their representatives to identify problems relating to care.
  • Refer patients to appropriate health care services or resources.
  • Maintain knowledge of community services and resources available to patients.
  • Explain policies, procedures, or services to patients using medical or administrative knowledge.
  • Investigate and direct patient inquiries or complaints to appropriate medical staff members and follow up to ensure satisfactory resolution.
  • Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the field.
  • Develop and distribute newsletters, brochures, or other printed materials to share information with patients or medical staff.
  • Provide consultation or training to volunteers or staff on topics, such as guest relations, patients' rights, or medical issues.
  • Analyze patients' abilities to pay to determine charges on a sliding scale.
  • Identify and share research, recommendations, or other information regarding legal liabilities, risk management, or quality of care.
  • Collect and report data on topics, such as patient encounters or inter-institutional problems, making recommendations for change when appropriate.
  • Teach patients to use home health care equipment.
Work Context
  • Telephone — 100% responded "Every day".
  • Electronic Mail — 100% responded "Every day".
  • Contact With Others — 100% responded "Constant contact with others".
  • Deal With External Customers — 97% responded "Extremely important".
  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 84% responded "Every day".
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 78% responded "Extremely important".
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 60% responded "Extremely important".
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Work Activities
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
  • Coordinate operational activities.
  • Refer customers to appropriate personnel.
  • Interview employees, customers, or others to collect information.
  • Refer customers to appropriate personnel.
  • Analyze financial information.
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Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
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Skills

Active Listening
  • Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Social Perceptiveness
  • Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation
  • Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination
  • Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
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Abilities

Oral Comprehension
  • The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
  • The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition
  • The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision
  • The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software
  • Microsoft Access Hot Technology
  • Data entry software Hot Technology
  • Database software
Electronic mail software
  • IBM Notes Hot Technology
  • Microsoft Exchange Hot Technology
  • Microsoft Outlook Hot Technology
Medical software
  • Medical condition coding software Hot Technology
  • MEDITECH software Hot Technology
  • Henry Schein Dentrix Hot Technology
  • Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS Hot Technology
  • Epic Systems Hot Technology
  • PracticeWorks Systems Kodak WINOMS CS
  • Peminic Patient Safety & Quality Suite
  • Admissions, discharge, and transfer ADT software
  • Epic EpicCare Inpatient Clinical System
  • Medical procedure coding software
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