Dental secretary vs patient service representative

The differences between dental secretaries 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 secretary, becoming a patient service representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a dental secretary has an average salary of $33,630, which is higher than the $32,476 average annual salary of a patient service representative.

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

Dental secretary vs patient service representative overview

	Dental Secretary	Patient Service Representative
Yearly salary	$33,630	$32,476
Hourly rate	$16.17	$15.61
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	36,708	165,920
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	49	40
Years of experience	2	4

Dental secretary vs patient service representative salary

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

	Dental Secretary	Patient Service Representative
Average salary	$33,630	$32,476
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Vermont
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between dental secretary and patient service representative education

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

	Dental Secretary	Patient Service Representative
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Dental secretary vs patient service representative demographics

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

	Dental Secretary	Patient Service Representative
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1%
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, 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	9%	7%

Differences between dental secretary and patient service representative 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 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 secretary vs patient service representative skills

Common dental secretary skills

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

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 Secretary
Dental Secretary vs Patient Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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