Day in the life of
Patient Advocate – Nicole Broadhurst BCPA
I am a Board Certified Patient Advocate specializing in Medical Billing.
My Typical Day
I contact both providers (hospitals, doctors offices, clinics, etc) and insurance companies to both find and correct billing errors as well as negotiate the balances due.
A typical day consists of:
- Reviewing incoming medical bills and explanations of benefits for accuracy/errors
- Organizing and cross-referencing them to document communications regarding identified issues
- Maintaining accurate records of communications and status of corrections
- Application for both charity care and state funding assistance with medical bills
- Formal and informal negotiations of medical bills
- Weekly video/phone calls with clients to update them on the status of their medical bills
- Keeping updated on industry rules/regulations regarding medical billing
- I also do external marketing and PR so the occasional PodCast interview or print interview such as this is very common since this is an emerging field
Pros
- I get to use my specialized knowledge and experience to assist patients in becoming educated consumers of healthcare services.
- I get to see the relief on patients’ faces when I resolve their medical billing issues.
Cons
- I spend A LOT of time on hold!
- I have to be VERY detail oriented and ensure that all communication is logged and documented for future reference.
Advice to students interesting in becoming a Patient Advocate
For anyone interested in becoming a Patient Advocate, I would suggest heading over the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates for more information on getting started as well as to the Patient Advocate Certification Board. A Bachelor’s degree (or relevant work experience) is required to become certified so I would suggest anything in the health field would assist in preparation. Also, anyone that has working experience in the healthcare industry would be well-prepared regardless of what degree they hold.
