Admissions clerk vs patient access representative

The differences between admissions clerks and patient access representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an admissions clerk, becoming a patient access representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a patient access representative has an average salary of $33,603, which is higher than the $31,980 average annual salary of an admissions clerk.

The top three skills for an admissions clerk include patients, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a patient access representative are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Admissions clerk vs patient access representative overview

	Admissions Clerk	Patient Access Representative
Yearly salary	$31,980	$33,603
Hourly rate	$15.38	$16.16
Growth rate	-5%	-4%
Number of jobs	123,555	151,077
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	47	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does an admissions clerk do?

An admissions clerk caters to all incoming customers, applicants, or patients in a facility. Their primary job is to handle the personal data of those customers, applicants, or patients. They are responsible for communicating this data to their organization's faculty and management, as well as ensuring data security. On a secondary basis, an admissions clerk is responsible for addressing the needs or inquiries of the customers, applicants, or patients they serve. For this position, it is necessary to have strong customer service skills, strong communication skills, and strong problem-solving abilities.

What does a patient access representative do?

A Patient Access Representative is the first point of contact of a patient in a hospital facility. Among the duties include the checking-in and out of a patient, gathering a patient's information for the Doctors and Nurses to use, communicates with the patient's family or caregivers, and processes insurance billing. Most of the time, A Patient Access Representative encounters the critically ill or injured which is why one must possess great communication skills and compassion.

Admissions clerk vs patient access representative salary

Admissions clerks and patient access representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Admissions Clerk	Patient Access Representative
Average salary	$31,980	$33,603
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between admissions clerk and patient access representative education

There are a few differences between an admissions clerk and a patient access representative in terms of educational background:

	Admissions Clerk	Patient Access Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Admissions clerk vs patient access representative demographics

Here are the differences between admissions clerks' and patient access representatives' demographics:

	Admissions Clerk	Patient Access Representative
Average age	47	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between admissions clerk and patient access representative duties and responsibilities

Admissions clerk example responsibilities.

Manage an adjoining veterinary supply shop that sell medications, animal food and pet equipment.
Register patients via ambulances and lobby registration.
Utilize ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding in admitting patients and pre-certifications/authorizations for admissions and procedures.
Interview incoming patients or representatives and enter information require for admission and emergency department registration into the computer.
Interpret institutes regulations and charges to patients and/or family members, obtaining necessary information and signatures where necessary.
Maintain communications with physicians' offices and unit secretaries/nursing coordinator to ensure bed placement of direct admissions and in-patient surgery candidates.

Patient access representative example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPPA and clinic.
Conduct intensive screening of all Medicare, Medicaid and manage care patients for provider service eligibility.
Educate eligible applicants about Medicaid manage care and how to access benefits in a manage care environment.
Run internal reports to ensure ICD 9 and CPT procedure codes are accurate for billing for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Deliver quality customer service and compassion while obtaining demographic and financial data from patients seeking emergency medical services.
Operate front desk check-in, preparation of charts, receive payments and balance books at the end of the day.

Admissions clerk vs patient access representative skills

Common admissions clerk skills

Patients, 42%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 4%
Insurance Forms, 3%
Computer System, 3%
Patient Demographics, 3%

Common patient access representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 9%
Patient Care, 5%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%

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Admissions Clerk
Admissions Clerk vs Patient Access Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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