What is a Patient Care Coordinator?

When you think about having fertility treatment, you usually only think about the role of the consultant, but actually, it takes a whole team of fertility experts to help you achieve your dream of parenthood and we want to give them all the wonderful recognition that deserve!

Today, we learn about the role of a patient care coordinator, and why they play such an instrumental role in your fertility journey. We spoke to Babs, one of the patient care coordinators at Clinica Tambre in Spain and asked her to tell us about her role at the clinic. 

“Hello IVF Babble readers! Yes, let me tell you about my job. As a Patient Co-ordinator, I welcome patients from the point of first contact all the way through to the exciting initial 12 weeks of pregnancy and often much longer.

“Like all of my fellow co-ordinators I am always at the end of the phone, a Skype call or email, ready to help, reassure and support patients. My role is crucial in ensuring communication between the patient and the medical and scientific teams is coherent and transparent. There is no room for miscommunication or error. Our philosophy is ‘the informed patient is a happy patient’.

“We are in constant communication with the rest of the clinic team, so that everybody is informed about everything. As a patient care coordinator, I am not a doctor and so I have to continually check with our medical team to ensure information shared with patients is correct. Similarly we do the same with the scientific team in the lab.

As well as making sure that our patients are fully informed, my job involves an enormous helping of empathy

“Empathy a key skill which is required by all patient co-ordinators. We recognise that every patient has a different story, but, they all have one thing in common – they want to become parents. We feel honoured that they have chosen us to help achieve their dreams. The experience with us is one of the most important moments in their lives and it is our responsibility to ensure that this process is a positive one. 

“Our clinic is a leader in the provision of fertility treatments for international patients,  therefore we have to have extensive experience in appreciating cultural and national diversity and applying appropriate actions, language and behaviour to ensure sensitivity and understanding. Although all patients come to the clinic with the same ultimate goal their journey might differ due to cultural reasons. 

“We work with patients from all over the world and we take time to ensure we offer a service which is adapted to their expectations. We spend time getting to know our patients and learn what they need. This is what makes our clinic so accessible and successful in treating international patients.

The work of the patient co-ordinator department never seems to wain.

“Even at this most difficult, frustrating and anxious ridden time, when the Covid-19 pandemic is proving to be traumatic for so many people waiting to start or restart treatments, the department is as busy as ever. 

“Patients need to be informed, and reassured that everything will be ok, more so than ever at the present time. They want to know that all the staff members in the clinic are healthy, that their embryos are in a safe place and how COVID-19 might impact on their pregnancy. We have reacted quickly by participating in and creating our own digital educational and information events such as webinars which have been hugely popular. We also keep everyone informed through a regular newsletter on the situation here in Spain.

“Whilst we wait and hope that the current situation will pass as quickly as possible we can say with certainty that the patient co-ordinator team at Clinica Tambre are ready to welcome new and returning patients when it is safe to do so. 

“Sending you all so much love. If you have any questions at all, do give me call won’t you? I am always at the end of the line.

Babs x

For more information about our clinic, please do drop us a line by clicking here.