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The differences between clinical medical assistants and medical scribes can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a clinical medical assistant and a medical scribe. Additionally, a clinical medical assistant has an average salary of $37,052, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.
The top three skills for a clinical medical assistant include patients, patient care and vital signs. The most important skills for a medical scribe are patients, medical terminology, and excellent organizational.
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Yearly salary | $37,052 | $30,045 |
| Hourly rate | $17.81 | $14.44 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 233,464 | 80,035 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A clinical medical assistant specializes in performing administrative and clinical tasks in a hospital or similar setting. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's information, medical history, test results, and other essential documentation, and updating patient medical records. Other tasks include reaching out to patients' families and guardians, assisting health workers with room preparation and patient care, and preparing medications and other treatments, all in adherence to a physician's directives. Furthermore, a clinical medical assistant may conduct inspections to ensure that the hospital complies with government regulations.
As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.
Clinical medical assistants and medical scribes have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Average salary | $37,052 | $30,045 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $46,000 | Between $23,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Boston Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a clinical medical assistant and a medical scribe in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Biology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between clinical medical assistants' and medical scribes' demographics:
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2% | Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |