Patient Advocate

Carewell

4d•Remote

About The Position

Carewell is launching Carewell Care Services, a new division delivering Medicare-reimbursed care coordination. This role is explicitly non-clinical, providing patient illness navigation (PIN) and community health integration (CHI), unless otherwise required by applicable state law. As our Founding Patient Advocate, you are the first hire in this division.This is a true "Day 1" operator role. There is no guidebook, SOP, or training manual (yet)—we are looking for an expert who can begin supporting Medicare patients immediately using their own judgment and experience. You’ll serve as a trusted, ongoing point of contact—helping patients understand their care plans, navigate the healthcare system, address social drivers of health, and stay engaged in care for serious or high-risk conditions. This is not a call-center role. You’ll build longitudinal relationships, identify barriers to care, and take concrete action to help patients move forward. The role operates under the general supervision of a billing practitioner, with structured communication, documentation, and escalation pathways to ensure compliance, quality, and continuity of care.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in patient advocacy, care coordination, case management, health coaching, or healthcare navigation
Strong understanding of the U.S. healthcare system, especially Medicare
Experience working with older adults or medically complex populations
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
Comfortable using EHRs, CRMs, and patient messaging tools
Ability to work independently in a remote environment
Demonstrated competencies and training in the following areas: Patient and family communication Interpersonal and relationship-building Patient and family capacity-building Service coordination and system navigation Patient advocacy, facilitation, and individual/community assessment Professionalism and ethical conduct Development of an appropriate knowledge base, including local community-based resources

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary, ongoing point of contact for assigned Medicare patients
Build trusting, longitudinal relationships grounded in empathy, respect, and follow-through
Support patients and families in understanding care plans, appointments, benefits, and available resources
Conduct person-centered assessments to understand life context, goals, barriers, cultural and linguistic needs
Perform SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) risk assessments and identify unmet social needs affecting diagnosis or treatment
Develop individualized action plans aligned to the initiating-visit problem or serious high-risk condition
Support appointment scheduling, reminders, follow-up outreach, and coordination across providers
Identify, refer to, and track community-based resources addressing health-related social needs (e.g., food, transportation, housing, utilities, caregiver support)
Maintain closed-loop referral tracking and document outcomes
Support patients between visits, including newly identified unmet SDOH needs that arise during treatment
Reinforce clinician-established care plans and support patient self-advocacy
Monitor for defined red flags and escalate promptly according to established protocols
Participate in recurring supervision touchpoints and case reviews
Document all patient interactions in all relevant systems (not solely in a Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Log start time, stop time, and duration for each interaction to support accurate monthly minute aggregation
Prepare structured documentation including: Assessment summaries Action plans Community resource and referral plans Escalation triggers and clinician notifications
Communicate regularly with supervising clinicians to support ongoing evaluation of medical necessity