Dental receptionist vs patient service representative

The differences between dental receptionists and patient service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a dental receptionist, becoming a patient service representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a dental receptionist has an average salary of $34,359, which is higher than the $32,476 average annual salary of a patient service representative.

The top three skills for a dental receptionist include patients, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for a patient service representative are patients, customer service, and excellent interpersonal.

Dental receptionist vs patient service representative overview

	Dental Receptionist	Patient Service Representative
Yearly salary	$34,359	$32,476
Hourly rate	$16.52	$15.61
Growth rate	-	-4%
Number of jobs	66,076	165,920
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	42	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does a dental receptionist do?

A dental receptionist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support dental office operations and ensure that the patients receive the highest quality care services. Dental receptionists manage and schedule the patients' appointments, determine the availability of the dentist, process dental reports and service payments, and ensure the adequacy of dental inventories. They also organize the database system by updating patients' information, sending referrals to medical specialists, pulling-up patient charts, and responding to the patients' dental inquiries and concerns.

What does a patient service representative do?

A Patient Service Representative is responsible for coordinating with patients, ensuring accuracy and satisfaction at all times. The duties of a Patient Service Representative revolves around greeting and responding to patients, offering assistance in documentation, gathering and maintaining their personal information, and even communicating with the family or guardian. They also have to collect payments and process insurance details, obtain medical history, and even keep the patients updated in various aspects. Aside from this, it is crucial for a Representative coordinate with supervisors or personnel in-charge at all times.

Dental receptionist vs patient service representative salary

Dental receptionists and patient service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Receptionist	Patient Service Representative
Average salary	$34,359	$32,476
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Vermont
Best paying company	University of Southern California	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between dental receptionist and patient service representative education

There are a few differences between a dental receptionist and a patient service representative in terms of educational background:

	Dental Receptionist	Patient Service Representative
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Dental receptionist vs patient service representative demographics

Here are the differences between dental receptionists' and patient service representatives' demographics:

	Dental Receptionist	Patient Service Representative
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%	Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 27.0% Asian, 5.5% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between dental receptionist and patient service representative duties and responsibilities

Dental receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage an adjoining veterinary supply shop that sell medications, animal food and pet equipment.
Perform administrative and receptionist duties by managing patient records while staying in compliance with HIPAA and JCAHO.
Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Register new patients according to office protocol using EagleSoft.
Experience in PPO and some HMO insurances.

Patient service representative example responsibilities.

Manage the daily release of charges to A/R.
Adhere with all state and federal regulations such as EMTALA and HIPPA requirements and appropriately collect co-payments and deductibles from patients.
Provide caring and compassion to elderly and developmentally disable patients.
Demonstrate respect, compassion and confidentiality for patients and family members.
Provide professional and accurate service to schedule patient appointments, check-in and verify insurance eligibility.
Provide quality customer service to patients and observe all protocols regarding HIPPA regulations to ensure patient confidentiality.

Dental receptionist vs patient service representative skills

Common dental receptionist skills

Patients, 35%
Customer Service, 17%
Phone Calls, 10%
Patient Accounts, 8%
Front Desk, 3%
HMO, 3%

Common patient service representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 12%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Check-In, 7%
Patient Service, 6%
Excellent Organizational, 6%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Dental Receptionist
Dental Receptionist vs Patient Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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