Becoming a Patient Advocate

A patient advocate, also known as a health advocate, is any individual who assists a patient deal with the individuals and institutions that have a direct effect on the quality and cost of the patient's health care and treatment. This can include doctors, insurance companies, employers, lawyers, and numerous other people and institutions in the public and private sectors. A patient advocate works on behalf of the patient to manage and resolve issues about health care and medical charges, supports and promotes patients' rights in general, and might even lobby for legislative and policy reform in the health care field.

Education, Training & Degrees for Patient Advocates

Although only one college in the United States offers a formal degree in Patient Advocacy, there are any number of degrees and areas of study which can provide strong background knowledge, skills and training to the prospective patient advocate. Virtually any health care, medical, public health or social work degree, whether an associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctorate, can serve as a foundation for and facilitate a career in patient advocacy.

Job Responsibilities and Desired Skills for Patient Advocates

Patients can occasionally become overwhelmed by the combination of their own illness and the complex healthcare bureaucracy of hospitals, insurance companies, and managed care programs. The patient advocate helps patients and their families navigate the complexities of the modern health care system to ensure that their medical and health needs are met, and acts on behalf of patients to mediate conflicts with health care providers. The patient advocate serves essentially as a representative of the patient when responding to these larger health care institutions and providers. Patient advocates counsel and inform their clients about insurance rights and patient empowerment, and intervene with HMOs, Medicare and other health providers as necessary.

In this capacity, a thorough knowledge of the laws, policies, and practices of managed health care programs and of institutions such as hospitals and is essential. The patient advocate must stay up-to-date regarding changes to these laws and policies, and must stay informed about treatment options.

Good communication and social skills are extremely important, as the patient advocate will necessarily deal with a wide range of people, from the terminally ill to physicians and other health care professionals to lawyers, managed care case workers, representatives of health-related government agencies, national health policy organizations and possibly even the media. Since they will often be involved with disputes, differences of opinion, and situations which could easily become adversarial, patience, flexibility and a firm belief in standing up for the rights of the individual are vital character traits for the patient advocate.


The legally-oriented patient advocate might also become a policy advocate and engage in lobbying for health care reform legislation. In this facet of patient activism, knowledge of how legislative institutions and other organizations operate can prove indispensable.

Some of the areas in which a patient advocate might become involved include promoting the rights of the mentally ill, of long-term care and geriatric care residents, or of victims of medical errors or substandard health care. The advocate might also become involved in such issues as health privacy, women's rights, insurance coverage and reform, patient education, and patients' rights, among many other important contemporary topics.

Patient Advocate Salary Range and Employment Outlook

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 178, 000 people were employed by social advocacy organizations, including in health and patient advocacy positions, in 2004. Employment prospects are expected to remain about the same as those in all other industries over the next decade.

Most patient advocate positions are sponsored by non-profit or not-for-profit organizations such as Patient Advocate Network, Patients Are Powerful, the National Patient Advocate Foundation, and the Patient Advocacy Coalition. Earnings for patient advocates can vary widely based on such factors as their geographical location and whether the patient advocate is working in a salaried, part-time or voluntary position. Figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that earnings of workers in advocacy, grantmaking, and civic organizations averaged about $14.78 an hour in 2004, slightly lower than the average of $15.67 per hour for all workers in private industry. This is due in part to an abundance of entry-level and part-time jobs in the organizations that contain advocacy positions.

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