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The differences between claims support specialists and patient care specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a claims support specialist, becoming a patient care specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a claims support specialist has an average salary of $37,033, which is higher than the $34,157 average annual salary of a patient care specialist.
The top three skills for a claims support specialist include data entry, dictation and claims support. The most important skills for a patient care specialist are patients, patient care, and data entry.
| Claims Support Specialist | Patient Care Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,033 | $34,157 |
| Hourly rate | $17.80 | $16.42 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 120,650 | 146,861 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Claims support specialists are the ones who make sure that the right amount of reimbursement rates is paid based on their client's contracts. Their job includes processing medical record requests and reviewing the secondary and tertiary claims for legitimacy. Working with physician and billing office employees to find resolutions for outstanding claim issues is a part of their responsibilities as claim support specialists. They also make follow up calls about unprocessed or denied insurance claims. And having good communication skills and knowledge in healthcare receivables and collections will help them succeed.
A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.
Claims support specialists and patient care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Claims Support Specialist | Patient Care Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,033 | $34,157 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $20,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rancho Cordova, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | W. R. Berkley | KPG |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a claims support specialist and a patient care specialist in terms of educational background:
| Claims Support Specialist | Patient Care Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between claims support specialists' and patient care specialists' demographics:
| Claims Support Specialist | Patient Care Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7% | Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.8% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |