A nurse liaison is either a licensed registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse who acts as an advocate for patients and their families. They work in a variety of settings, such as acute care, hospices, long-term acute care and rehabilitation facilities.
The goal of a nurse liaison is to foster a productive, advantageous relationship between healthcare facilities and their patients by performing a wide range of tasks.
Duties of a Nurse Liaison
Typically, a nurse liaison is the first healthcare professional to assess patients entering a medical facility. A nurse liaison also:
- Reviews patient medical records to determine if they need admitted
- Explains to patients and families the types of services and care provided by a medical facility
- Schedules physical therapy/rehabilitation sessions for patients
- Schedules doctor visits
- Coordinates with facility staff to ensure a patient’s discharge is smooth and free of documentation issues
- May help verify patient health insurance information and pre-certifying coverage
- May train members of a healthcare facilities’ staff in performing various tasks throughout the facility
- Regularly communicate with external and internal case managers and/or physicians
A nurse liaison is also responsible for finding and securing physicians for patients. For example, if a patient’s attending doctor does not have privileges at the patient’s facility or the attending doctor wants only to be a consulting physician, then a nurse liaison will ask another doctor to admit a patient.
Nurse liaisons develop familiar relationships with doctors that works to expedite admission of patients who may not have a physician with facility privileges.
If problems arise following a patient’s admission, nurse liaisons will act as mediators between a patient’s family and the nurses and physicians caring for the patient.
If you’re looking for a nurse liaison, contact Williams Brothers Long Term Pharmacy.
