OVERVIEW
What is a Patient Experience Manager?
A patient experience manager helps to satisfy a full range of patient needs. They can inform the patient’s understanding of treatment programs, help patients prepare for therapy, and even communicate with care providers to brief them on a patient’s concerns, hesitations, or treatment needs.
Depending on the size of the healthcare organization, a patient experience manager can also sometimes be known as a patient experience director, patient experience liaison, or patient experience officer. No matter the title, the duties of a patient experience manager are still focused on improving patient outcomes.
The role of a patient experience manager is a specialized career option. As a result, you’ll likely need to obtain both an undergraduate and a master’s degree before employers will consider you for hire. Some employers also prefer that applicants gain at least a few years of experience in a healthcare organization, preferably in a patient experience role.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does a Patient Experience Manager Do?
Each day, a patient experience manager will handle a variety of different responsibilities. On some days, patient experience managers might spend time communicating directly with patients and their care providers. On other days, they might spend hours creating treatment plans, reporting on patient progress, or implementing patient-related programs across a healthcare organization.
The exact responsibilities of a patient experience manager can include:
- Managing all aspects of a patient’s experience, both concerning their treatment and their overall stay at your healthcare facility.
- Communicating with patients to determine their needs and identify a path toward treatment and progress.
- Empathizing with patient concerns on their path toward recovery, and helping them take steps to replace anxiety with peace of mind.
- Corresponding with care providers like doctors and nurses, to familiarize them with individual patient needs and preferences.
- Implementing patient-focused programs in a healthcare environment.
- Generating and delivering reports on patient progress, setbacks, and overall status.
- Working with other healthcare team members to address patient needs as part of their daily processes.
These and other responsibilities make a patient experience manager a valuable asset in virtually any healthcare setting as they work to directly improve patient mood and care quality.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
What Education Does a Patient Experience Manager Need?
In order to move into this management position at a healthcare facility, there are some specific educational requirements you’ll need to meet. After you complete your undergraduate degree in a field such as health and human services or health science you’ll need to obtain a master’s degree in healthcare administration or an MBA in healthcare management.
In these types of degree programs, you'll learn about the business aspects of healthcare and discover how to work within that healthcare setting to provide the best possible experience. Communication, strategy, budgeting, and more are all part of these degree programs. They will leave you with the skills and experience you need to be successful in a role as a patient experience manager. When determining the right healthcare leadership degree for you, consider your desired role.
Best Degrees for a Patient Experience Manager
Health & Nursing
Health and Human Services – B.S.
An online health degree program for students who are committed to making a...
An online health degree program for students who are committed to making a difference for patients in a variety of ways.
- Time: 63% of students finish this program in 24 months
- Tuition: $4,210 per 6-month term
- Courses: 35 total courses in this program
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Epidemiology
- Community and Public Health
- Cultural Awareness
- Pathophysiology
- Healthcare Values and Ethics
- Substance Abuse Support
This degree allows you to work inside the healthcare industry, while also directly working with patients who need help.
Health & Nursing
Psychology – B.S.
An online psychology program for students who want to make a difference in...
An online psychology program for students who want to make a difference in their life, and the lives of others.
- Time: 95% of students finish similar programs in less than 4 years.
- Tuition: $4,085 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 34 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé included in this program:
- Social psychology
- Consumer psychology
- Adult psychology
- Mental health awareness
- Psychopathology
This degree allows you to gain valuable knowledge and experience in the field of psychology and can prepare you for additional certifications or careers.
Business
MBA Healthcare Administration
Shape the business of healthcare with an online MBA in Healthcare...
Shape the business of healthcare with an online MBA in Healthcare Administration.
- Time: WGU lets you set a schedule so you can finish your MBA in just one year.
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 11 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Regulatory compliance
- Patient care improvement
- Data-driven decision making
- Accreditation Auditing
- Ethical Leadership
Healthcare is big business in today's complex economy. Steer your career with this specialty MBA.
Compare online business degrees
This program is not the only online business degree WGU offers that is designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Health & Nursing
Health Science – B.S.
An online health science program designed for students who want real-world...
An online health science program designed for students who want real-world skills for valuable health careers.
- Time: 63% of students finish similar programs in 24 months.
- Tuition: $4,210 per 6-month term
- Courses: 28 total courses in this program
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Epidemiology
- Disease prevention
- Behavioral health
- Substance abuse support
- Health research
- Medical technology
This degree prepares you with relevant industry skills and experience that will help you move forward in your healthcare career.
Health & Nursing
Master of Healthcare Administration
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly...
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly in line with innovations in health and healthcare.
- Time: 60% of grads finish within 21 months.
- Tuition: $4,995 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 12 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Healthcare Models and Systems
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Healthcare Information Technology
Your rich experience in a health-related field can mean more when you bring a master's level of understanding to the problems that organizations need to solve.
Compare degrees
This program is not the only degree WGU offers designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Health & Nursing
Nursing Leadership Certificate – Leavitt School of Health
Enhance your résumé and take a step in your educational journey with the...
Enhance your résumé and take a step in your educational journey with the help of a nursing leadership certificate from the Leavitt School of Health.
- Time: 3 months from start to finish.
- Cost: $2,000 for the certificate.
- Courses: 3 courses total in this program.
This program is for emerging nursing leaders, however this program does not require a bachelor’s degree, and provides transferable credit towards a WGU degree program. The three courses are:
- Interprofessional Communication and Leadership in Healthcare
- Intrapersonal Leadership and Professional Growth
- Nursing Leadership Capstone
How Much Does a Patient Experience Manager Make?
$90,121
The exact income of a patient experience manager can vary based on several factors, including your employer, employer’s location, employer’s public or private healthcare funding, years of experience, and education. On average, the salary of a patient experience manager is $90,121, with a range of roughly $71,417 to $103,532 earned each year.
What Is the Projected Job Growth?
32%
The job outlook for patient experience managers is expected to remain positive over the next decade. From 2019 to 2029, employment for all medical and health services managers is forecasted to grow 32%, a growth rate much faster than the projected average across all occupations.
SKILLS
What Skills Does a Patient Experience Manager Need?
As a patient experience manager, you will depend on a variety of skills each day. Whether coordinating a patient’s treatment plans or ensuring compliance with healthcare policies, you’ll depend on a developed skillset every time you step into a healthcare environment.
The skills a patient experience manager needs can include:
- Patient management. The ability to foster a safe, comfortable experience for all patients, as they receive treatment in a controlled healthcare setting.
- Interpersonal communication. The ability to correspond effectively with care providers, organizational executives, patients, patient family members, and other patient experience managers.
- Compliance. The ability to adhere to all local, state, and federal healthcare regulations during operations.
- Data reporting. The ability to relay useful data to executives and other company representatives in user-friendly reports that allow them to improve operations.
- Technological proficiency. The ability to fully use all required pieces of technology, including any computers, tablets, phones, medical devices, and online platforms.
- Empathy. The ability to share a patient’s concerns, answer patient questions and make care providers aware of any patient hesitations to treatment.
- Problem-solving. The ability to identify and solve issues that patients might face in a healthcare environment.
- Teamwork. The ability to work alongside other members of a healthcare organization to facilitate successful patient treatment programs.
These and other skills help patient experience managers to connect with and assist patients visiting a healthcare facility.
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