Admitting clerk vs receptionist/billing clerk

The differences between admitting clerks and receptionist/billing clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an admitting clerk and a receptionist/billing clerk. Additionally, a receptionist/billing clerk has an average salary of $31,932, 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 receptionist/billing clerk are patients, data entry, and customer service.

Admitting clerk vs receptionist/billing clerk overview

	Admitting Clerk	Receptionist/Billing Clerk
Yearly salary	$31,833	$31,932
Hourly rate	$15.30	$15.35
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	106,698	129,530
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

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 receptionist/billing clerk do?

A receptionist/billing clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to maintain a smooth flow of operations for the business. Receptionist/billing clerks process the customers' payment transactions, manage account payables, releasing invoices, and immediately resolve account discrepancies. A receptionist/billing clerk must have excellent communication and analytical skills, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, escalating high-level complaints to the billing management. They should also maintain records of financial documentation for reference and reconciliation as needed.

Admitting clerk vs receptionist/billing clerk salary

Admitting clerks and receptionist/billing clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Admitting Clerk	Receptionist/Billing Clerk
Average salary	$31,833	$31,932
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Maria, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Leggett & Platt
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between admitting clerk and receptionist/billing clerk education

There are a few differences between an admitting clerk and a receptionist/billing clerk in terms of educational background:

	Admitting Clerk	Receptionist/Billing Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Admitting clerk vs receptionist/billing clerk demographics

Here are the differences between admitting clerks' and receptionist/billing clerks' demographics:

	Admitting Clerk	Receptionist/Billing Clerk
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 9.3% Female, 90.7%	Male, 7.2% Female, 92.8%
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, 10.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 25.0% Asian, 5.7% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between admitting clerk and receptionist/billing clerk 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.

Receptionist/billing clerk example responsibilities.

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Obtain and track all insurance referrals for patients with HMO products.
Coordinate in-processing of all patients, to include accurate insurance information and payments are entered correctly into office computer system.
Move from SNF billing to HMO outpatient billing and keep a large alpha current.
Maintain confidentiality and adherence to HIPAA guidelines.
Develop effective billing strategies for Medicaid recipients according to HIPPA rules and regulations.

Admitting clerk vs receptionist/billing clerk skills

Common admitting clerk skills

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

Common receptionist/billing clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Data Entry, 11%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Appointment Scheduling, 6%
Front Desk, 5%

Admitting Clerk vs. similar jobs

Admitting Clerk related careers

Admitting Clerk related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Admitting Clerk
Admitting Clerk vs Receptionist/Billing Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs