Dental secretary vs medical clerk

The differences between dental secretaries and medical clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a dental secretary and a medical clerk. Additionally, a dental secretary has an average salary of $33,630, which is higher than the $32,439 average annual salary of a medical clerk.

The top three skills for a dental secretary include scheduling appointments, patients and patient appointments. The most important skills for a medical clerk are patients, medical terminology, and data entry.

Dental secretary vs medical clerk overview

	Dental Secretary	Medical Clerk
Yearly salary	$33,630	$32,439
Hourly rate	$16.17	$15.60
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	36,708	166,322
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 26%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	2	2

Dental secretary vs medical clerk salary

Dental secretaries and medical clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Secretary	Medical Clerk
Average salary	$33,630	$32,439
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Minnesota
Best paying company	-	Brinks Gilson
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between dental secretary and medical clerk education

There are a few differences between a dental secretary and a medical clerk in terms of educational background:

	Dental Secretary	Medical Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 26%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Dental secretary vs medical clerk demographics

Here are the differences between dental secretaries' and medical clerks' demographics:

	Dental Secretary	Medical Clerk
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between dental secretary and medical clerk duties and responsibilities

Dental secretary example responsibilities.

Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
Bill charges to patients and insurance companies and process cash/credit and insurance check payments; make financial arrangements for patients.
Check patients in and out for appointments, billing, filing and pulling medical records, phone calls.
Provide technician support to psychologists and urologists by accurately and efficiently transcribing a wide range of medical conditions onto patient records.
Perform therapeutic treatments including: electric stimulation, ultrasound therapy, and lumbar and cervical decompression therapy.

Medical clerk example responsibilities.

Evaluate all EOB's to insure accurate payment is received and when necessary will file appeals to achieve optimal payments.
Follow HIPPA patient confidentiality guidelines making patients or facility have filled proper forms to release records.
File results of laboratory tests, x-rays, EKG's, etc., in patients records.
Respond and resolve patient inquiries with compassion and patience.
Prepare request for EKG tests, eye examinations, audio and dental records.
Enter deficiencies into MediTech program.

Dental secretary vs medical clerk skills

Common dental secretary skills

Scheduling Appointments, 40%
Patients, 36%
Patient Appointments, 3%
Insurance Forms, 3%
Insurance Claims, 3%
Check-In, 2%

Common medical clerk skills

Patients, 32%
Medical Terminology, 6%
Data Entry, 6%
Phone Calls, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Telephone Calls, 3%