Admitting clerk vs patient liaison

The differences between admitting clerks and patient liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an admitting clerk, becoming a patient liaison takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a patient liaison has an average salary of $32,314, which is higher than the $31,833 average annual salary of an admitting clerk.

The top three skills for an admitting clerk include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a patient liaison are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Admitting clerk vs patient liaison overview

	Admitting Clerk	Patient Liaison
Yearly salary	$31,833	$32,314
Hourly rate	$15.30	$15.54
Growth rate	-	-4%
Number of jobs	106,698	84,302
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	42	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does an admitting clerk do?

The job of an admitting clerk is to register and admit patients to a hospital. Admitting clerks interview patients in getting the necessary financial and medical information for the admission. They verify the insurance of patients and make sure that their registration forms are accurately signed. Usually, they work on the medical profession and hospital front lines. They welcome and face customers and need to understand medicine. Also, they are expected to manage doctors, nurses, patients, and hospital policies.

What does a patient liaison do?

Patient Liaisons are intermediaries addressing concerns on behalf of patients and families working in tandem with the hospital administrator. They are responsible for gathering data regarding patient care issues and inquiries, assessing patient well-being, suggesting improvements, and interpreting hospital service, policies, and procedures to patients and families. Patient Liaisons also work to educate health care professionals in humanizing the hospital experience for patients. They work in a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or programs related to public health.

Admitting clerk vs patient liaison salary

Admitting clerks and patient liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Admitting Clerk	Patient Liaison
Average salary	$31,833	$32,314
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $24,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between admitting clerk and patient liaison education

There are a few differences between an admitting clerk and a patient liaison in terms of educational background:

	Admitting Clerk	Patient Liaison
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Admitting clerk vs patient liaison demographics

Here are the differences between admitting clerks' and patient liaisons' demographics:

	Admitting Clerk	Patient Liaison
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 9.3% Female, 90.7%	Male, 16.2% Female, 83.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 4.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between admitting clerk and patient liaison duties and responsibilities

Admitting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage confidential patient information according to HIPPA guidelines.
Assist patients with benefit verification, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Perform online verification of Medicaid and Medicare admissions to insure eligibility.
Schedule patients for special procedures and radiology exams, obtain prior authorizations and referrals.
Release medical records upon request and maintain confidentiality of patients information under HIPPA law.
Process paperwork for various departments including insurance, surgery, radiology, laboratory and the emergency room.

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Patient liaison example responsibilities.

Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Conduct all insurance verification and obtain authorization to treat sub-acute rehabilitation patients.
Attend Michigan state eligibility hearings, when necessary to assist and gain Medicaid disability benefits for patients.
Interview patients of hospital facility to obtain necessary documentation to secure Medicaid coverage as payment of inpatient hospital charges.
Set up payment plan, verify personal information per HIPAA guidelines.
Respect and maintain HIPPA and patient confidentiality and dignity of patients at all times.

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Admitting clerk vs patient liaison skills

Common admitting clerk skills

Patients, 40%
Customer Service, 10%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Data Entry, 5%
Computer System, 3%
Phone Calls, 3%

Common patient liaison skills

Patients, 37%
Customer Service, 16%
Medical Terminology, 4%
Health System, 3%
HIPAA, 3%
Surgery, 2%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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