Care Coordinator: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a Care Coordinator?

A Care Coordinator, or a Patient Care Coordinator, helps patients navigate the logistical and administrative tasks involved with healthcare to ensure they get the assistance they need. They provide support for scheduling appointments, understanding treatment plans, finding transportation, filing insurance claims and making financial arrangements.

The Care Coordinator may also communicate with various healthcare providers on the patient’s care team to coordinate treatments and ensure smooth transitions between Doctors.

Why hire a Care Coordinator?

Care Coordinators help ensure patients understand each step of the healthcare process so they feel informed and empowered. They often act as a central point of contact for patients and Doctors.

You might consider hiring a Care Coordinator if your business serves patients, such as elderly individuals or people with complex medical needs, who need assistance managing their medical care.

Contributions of a great Care Coordinator:

• Improved patient education and support
• Streamlined transitions between Doctors or facilities
• Efficient delivery of healthcare services and potentially better patient outcomes

Defining your hiring needs for a Care Coordinator

Before hiring a Care Coordinator, define the duties and responsibilities for the role. Consider the time involved in each task and whether you need a part- or full-time employee.

After defining the scope of work, it should be clear whether a Care Coordinator is the best role to hire. Depending on your company’s needs, you might need a Medical Assistant or a Medical Receptionist.

What are the types of Care Coordinators?

Care Coordinators may provide a broad range of services or specialize in a specific aspect of care coordination, such as patient education.

Types of Care Coordinators can include:

• Case Managers: Case Managers often help patients navigate care for significant or complex health conditions. They generally work with patients and families to provide access to resources, assess needs and concerns and monitor progress.
• Patient Navigators: These professionals help patients understand and navigate the healthcare system, guiding them to access the necessary care.
• Clinical Coordinators: This type of coordinator helps coordinate patient care in a specific facility. They may also manage administrative tasks, oversee staff and facilitate communication between Doctors or departments.

When you’re ready to write a Care Coordinator job description, keywords are an important consideration. Including popular terms can help your posting show up in more searches. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on Care Coordinator jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Care Coordinator
• Coordinator
• Patient Care Coordinator
• Medical Assistant
• LPN
• Healthcare
• Patient Service Representative
• Medical office
• Referral Coordinator

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Where to find Care Coordinators

You can find Care Coordinator applicants through healthcare job boards, nursing and social work programs, case management associations and community health organizations. Partnering with colleges that offer health administration or human services degrees, attending healthcare career fairs or connecting with local care networks can help expand your reach.

To find the right Care Coordinator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Internal promotions: Consider your existing Registered Nurses (RNs), Social Workers and Administrators and evaluate who has the organizational and communication skills needed to succeed in a Care Coordinator position.
• Professional associations: Join local chapters of associations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) or the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM), and share your job posting with members.
• Healthcare recruiters: Bring in a recruitment agency that connects candidates to healthcare jobs.
• Post your job online:Post your Care Coordinator job on Indeed to bring in candidates.

Skills to look for in a Care Coordinator

A successful Care Coordinator candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

• Understanding of health insurance coverage, claims procedures and billing
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for coordinating with patients, families and healthcare providers
• Proficiency in health or care management software, such as AssureCare, ShiftCare or Arcadia
• Experience with patient charting and documentation
• Knowledge of relevant laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Highly developed organizational skills for managing multiple patients’ care plans
• Awareness of support programs and financial assistance resources to help patients

Writing a Care Coordinator job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job seeker search terms and hiring insights for a Care Coordinator, you’re ready to write a job description.

A Care Coordinator job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your open role.

Ready to get started? Check out our full guide for writing Care Coordinator job descriptions.

Interviewing Care Coordinator candidates

Strong candidates for Care Coordinator positions will be confident answering questions about:

• Communicating clearly with patients and care teams
• Using software tools to manage patient care plans
• Experience with health insurance and financial assistance
• Documenting and charting patient care
• Providing resources and overcoming barriers to care
• Following legal requirements regarding data and confidentiality

Need help coming up with interview questions? Our Patient Advocate interview questions are a helpful starting point for hiring a Care Coordinator.