Patient Liaison

Job Description

Job Description

Patient Liaison Job Responsibilities

The Patient Liaison serves as a visible and accessible resource for patients and their families throughout their hospital experience. The Patient Liaison represents the expectations of Hospital Administration and is responsible for promoting a positive, compassionate, and patient-centered experience across various hospital units and departments. The Patient Liaison proactively rounds throughout the hospital, engages with patients and families, identifies and addresses non-clinical needs, facilitates communication, assists with service recovery, and identifies opportunities to improve the overall patient experience.

The Liaison uses knowledge of hospital policies, procedures, services, and resources to assist patients and families and facilitate communication with the appropriate members of the care team. The Liaison listens with empathy and concern, acknowledges patient and family concerns, and ensures that concerns are taken seriously and appropriately addressed. The Patient Liaison will provide coverage across various units and hospital departments based on patient volume, operational needs, patient experience trends, and leadership direction. The Liaison will work collaboratively with nursing, physicians, ancillary departments, support services, and hospital leadership to promote a consistent and positive patient experience throughout the organization. When circumstances warrant, the Patient Liaison will promptly escalate significant concerns to the appropriate Nurse Manager, Clinical Director, Department Leader, Patient Representative, or other designated member of leadership.

Schedule: Friday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 AM–2:00 PM

Qualifications:

• Familiarity with hospital operations, organizational structure, and the functions of various clinical and support departments.
• Ability to remain calm, professional, and reassuring when interacting with patients, families, and staff, particularly during stressful or sensitive situations.
• Ability to effectively interact and collaborate with patients, families, physicians, nursing staff, ancillary departments, support services, and hospital leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to convey genuine caring, compassion, and concern in all patient and family interactions.
• Exceptional listening, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact respectfully and effectively with individuals from diverse cultural, social, and personal backgrounds.
• Ability to recognize patient and family needs or concerns that may require additional assistance and appropriately escalate matters to the appropriate department, leader, or member of the care team.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain professional boundaries, and determine when concerns require escalation or clinical intervention.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple patient and family needs across various hospital units and departments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and the ability to accurately document, track, and report patient experience information.
• Ability to work independently while also functioning effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Flexibility to work across various hospital units and departments based on patient volume, operational needs, and patient experience priorities.
• Bilingual preferred.

Responsibilities:

Patient and Family Engagement

• Welcome and engage with patients and their families throughout their hospital experience, including patients in inpatient units, procedural areas, waiting areas, and other designated hospital departments.
• Serve as a visible and accessible resource for patients and families, providing assistance, answering questions within the scope of the role, and connecting patients with the appropriate hospital resources.
• Proactively identify patient and family needs and assist with addressing non-clinical concerns.
• Follow patients' experiences throughout their hospital stay when additional follow-up or support is needed.
• Provide comfort items and appropriate resources to patients and families, such as blankets, pillows, and age-appropriate activities for pediatric patients.

Rounding and Patient Experience

• Conduct routine patient experience rounding throughout assigned hospital units and departments.
• Engage patients and families during rounding to identify questions, concerns, compliments, and opportunities to improve their experience.
• Follow up on concerns identified during rounding and communicate with the appropriate department or member of the care team.
• Monitor patient care areas, waiting areas, and public spaces for environmental or service-related concerns and notify the appropriate support department when attention is needed.
• Adjust rounding locations and frequency based on patient volume, operational needs, patient experience trends, and leadership direction.
• Represent the Patient Experience Department and Hospital Administration in a professional, compassionate, and respectful manner.

Communication and Service Recovery

• Listen to patient and family concerns with empathy, compassion, and professionalism.
• Document patient comments, concerns, compliments, and requests and ensure appropriate follow-up.
• Assist in facilitating communication between patients, families, and members of the care team when appropriate.
• Assist patients and families with questions regarding hospital processes, services, delays, and next steps by connecting them with the appropriate clinical or operational team member.
• Support service recovery efforts by addressing concerns within the scope of the role and coordinating with the appropriate department or leader.
• Escalate significant concerns, complaints, or issues requiring immediate attention to the appropriate Nurse Manager, Department Leader, Patient Representative, or other designated member of leadership.
• Assist patients and families with navigating the hospital and locating appropriate departments, services, and resources.
• Escort or assist patients to other areas of the hospital when appropriate and within the scope of the position.

Documentation and Performance Improvement

• Accurately document patient interactions, concerns, compliments, requests, service recovery efforts, and follow-up activities.
• Maintain daily tracking of patient experience activities and identified concerns using Excel or other designated systems.
• Review patient feedback to identify recurring concerns, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Communicate identified trends and significant concerns to Patient Experience leadership and appropriate hospital departments.
• Assist with collecting and reporting patient experience information to support departmental and hospital-wide improvement initiatives.
• Participate in patient experience projects, initiatives, rounding programs, and performance improvement activities as assigned.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by leadership.