Patient Relations Coordinator

Entering a hospital can be an incredibly stressful experience. Doctors, Surgeons, Nurses, and Anesthesiologists all bustle around the patient, which can leave family members feeling isolated and a bit angry. When the bills arrive, that anger may resurface as the patients and their Caregivers look over the steep charges.

A Patient Relations Coordinator is a sort of anger expert, able to help patients and families understand the hospital’s policies and billing structure. They also investigate complaints to ensure that future families aren’t impacted by the same problem.

Patients and Caregivers are encouraged to call their Patient Relations Coordinators with complaints. This means that when you’re a Patient Relations Coordinator, you’re often interacting with people who are slightly angry. When you meet these people, you allow them to talk at length and explain their concerns.

In some cases, a simple apology from you is enough to help them calm down and leave anger behind. In other cases, you must do more work.

If a significant complaint surfaces, you notify the Hospital Administrator and pull together notes about the complaint. Sometimes, you interview staff members to determine what happened and what should be done in the future to prevent the problem. Other times, you’re not allowed to assist in these high-level investigations, and you simply hand over your notes and walk away.

Patients and Caregivers sometimes have questions about hospital policies. They may want to know why they must sign so many forms, for example, or they may ask why only one person is allowed in the visiting room at a time. You carefully explain the hospital policy, giving a history lesson about why that rule is in place.