Authorization specialist vs patient registrar

The differences between authorization specialists and patient registrars can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an authorization specialist and a patient registrar. Additionally, an authorization specialist has an average salary of $36,518, which is higher than the $33,494 average annual salary of a patient registrar.

The top three skills for an authorization specialist include patients, customer service and insurance verification. The most important skills for a patient registrar are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Authorization specialist vs patient registrar overview

	Authorization Specialist	Patient Registrar
Yearly salary	$36,518	$33,494
Hourly rate	$17.56	$16.10
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	71,831	86,721
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does an authorization specialist do?

An authorization specialist is responsible for reviewing insurance claims and determining the necessary settlement for the clients and involved parties. Authorization specialists file documents and gather the required information for further investigation and analysis. They coordinate with the insurance agency and the medical institution and ensure that the correct communications are being sent out for reference. An authorization specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing authorization requests and resolve claims timely and efficiently.

What does a patient registrar do?

A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.

Authorization specialist vs patient registrar salary

Authorization specialists and patient registrars have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Authorization Specialist	Patient Registrar
Average salary	$36,518	$33,494
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $47,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Milford, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Guidehouse	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between authorization specialist and patient registrar education

There are a few differences between an authorization specialist and a patient registrar in terms of educational background:

	Authorization Specialist	Patient Registrar
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Authorization specialist vs patient registrar demographics

Here are the differences between authorization specialists' and patient registrars' demographics:

	Authorization Specialist	Patient Registrar
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between authorization specialist and patient registrar duties and responsibilities

Authorization specialist example responsibilities.

Demonstrate knowledge of HIPAA by appropriately managing patient confidentiality.
Utilize CMS and InterQual criteria to establish authorizations for members requiring medical services for a Medicare advantage insurance company.
Build authorization, match ICD-10 codes with there procedure codes
Provide patients with patient registration forms in order to follow up on patient check-in and check-out utilizing a proprietary management system.
Obtain verification of insurance coverage and authorizations for clinical visits and surgical procedures for patients.
Perform all components of the office registration including arrival, check-in and future appointments.

Patient registrar example responsibilities.

Process release of information requests according to HIPAA regulations and manage valuables safe for entire facility.
Specialize in high degree of compassion when communicating with patients providing information and insurance details.
Receive patients, record patient demographic information and verify insurance for emergency department, laboratory, and radiology
Register patients and ensure correctness of all demographic information in AS400, verify insurance on various websites and collect patient co-payments.
Update demographics, billing information, Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance during patient interviews to obtain pertinent registration information.
Enter confidential personal health information and financial information into IDX system with a high rate of accuracy and confidentiality.

Authorization specialist vs patient registrar skills

Common authorization specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 10%
Insurance Verification, 6%
Medical Terminology, 6%
Insurance Eligibility, 4%
Veterans, 4%

Common patient registrar skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 11%
Medical Terminology, 11%
Patient Registration, 4%
Patient Care, 4%
Insurance Verification, 3%

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Authorization Specialist
Authorization Specialist vs Patient Registrar

Updated January 8, 2025

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