Admitting clerk vs registration specialist

The differences between admitting clerks and registration specialists 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 registration specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an admitting clerk has an average salary of $31,833, which is higher than the $30,422 average annual salary of a registration specialist.

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

Admitting clerk vs registration specialist overview

	Admitting Clerk	Registration Specialist
Yearly salary	$31,833	$30,422
Hourly rate	$15.30	$14.63
Growth rate	-	-4%
Number of jobs	106,698	79,118
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
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 registration specialist do?

A registration specialist is responsible for managing patient information, including the verification of their insurance details and medical treatment schedules. Registration specialists assign admission rooms and processing payments for discharge. They also assist patients with the completion of medical forms by helping them fill-out papers with the most accurate information. A registration specialist performs administrative and clerical duties as needed, requiring them to have excellent data management skills to process information and provide the highest quality care services for the patients.

Admitting clerk vs registration specialist salary

Admitting clerks and registration specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Admitting Clerk	Registration Specialist
Average salary	$31,833	$30,422
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $23,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Deloitte
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between admitting clerk and registration specialist education

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

	Admitting Clerk	Registration Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Admitting clerk vs registration specialist demographics

Here are the differences between admitting clerks' and registration specialists' demographics:

	Admitting Clerk	Registration Specialist
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 9.3% Female, 90.7%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between admitting clerk and registration specialist 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.

Registration specialist example responsibilities.

Attain and authenticate patient insurance information, counsel patients on changes in insurance policies, verify patient demographics.
Help patients through the registration and admitting processes and also contribute to the PBX department.
Input data entries for insurance billing; adding CPT codes and diagnosis from face sheets as patients arrive.
Act as hospital PBX operator.
Complete all charge entry, enter all CPT and ICD-9 codes for billing for multiple doctors each day.
Enter patient information and verify information according to HIPAA regulations.

Admitting clerk vs registration specialist skills

Common admitting clerk skills

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

Common registration specialist skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 14%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Data Entry, 4%

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Admitting Clerk
Admitting Clerk vs Registration Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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