Dental secretary vs patient coordinator

The differences between dental secretaries and patient coordinators 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 secretary, becoming a patient coordinator takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a dental secretary has an average salary of $33,630, which is higher than the $32,954 average annual salary of a patient coordinator.

The top three skills for a dental secretary include scheduling appointments, patients and patient appointments. The most important skills for a patient coordinator are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Dental secretary vs patient coordinator overview

	Dental Secretary	Patient Coordinator
Yearly salary	$33,630	$32,954
Hourly rate	$16.17	$15.84
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	36,708	97,878
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	49	40
Years of experience	2	4

Dental secretary vs patient coordinator salary

Dental secretaries and patient coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Secretary	Patient Coordinator
Average salary	$33,630	$32,954
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	Brockton, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between dental secretary and patient coordinator education

There are a few differences between a dental secretary and a patient coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Dental Secretary	Patient Coordinator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Dental secretary vs patient coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between dental secretaries' and patient coordinators' demographics:

	Dental Secretary	Patient Coordinator
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%
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, 11.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 25.4% Asian, 6.2% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between dental secretary and patient coordinator 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.

Patient coordinator example responsibilities.

Comply with HIPAA regulations by discreetly and professionally handling all patients private medical information.
Gather personal plus insurance information and perform thorough insurance breakdowns for patients.
Communicate directly with patients to obtain initial patient information and respond to inquiries.
Process and update HIPAA relate paperwork and other require institutional forms as necessary.
Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
Respond in writing to all grievances in accordance with CMS and DNV guidelines.

Dental secretary vs patient coordinator skills

Common dental secretary skills

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

Common patient coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 11%
Patient Care, 6%
Patient Flow, 5%
Excellent Organizational, 4%
Check-In, 3%