Front office coordinator vs referral coordinator

The differences between front office coordinators and referral coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a front office coordinator and a referral coordinator. Additionally, a referral coordinator has an average salary of $35,179, which is higher than the $32,844 average annual salary of a front office coordinator.

The top three skills for a front office coordinator include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a referral coordinator are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Front office coordinator vs referral coordinator overview

	Front Office Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Yearly salary	$32,844	$35,179
Hourly rate	$15.79	$16.91
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	131,810	65,934
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	47	49
Years of experience	2	2

What does a front office coordinator do?

A front office coordinator is responsible for assisting clients with their inquiries and concerns and directing them to the appropriate department and personnel to immediately address their needs. Front office coordinators schedule appointments, verify visitors' identities by checking their credentials for security purposes, processing service payments, updating customers' data and visitation log on the database, and escalating high-level complaints. A front office coordinator also performs administrative and clerical tasks as needed, requiring them to have excellent time-management and organizational skills.

What does a referral coordinator do?

A referral coordinator works with insurance companies and care providers to share essential patient information and assists primarily in scheduling appointments and managing health insurance issues. As a referral coordinator, you will work directly with the patient, patient families, or even social workers, depending on the job and patient needs. Other job responsibilities include general administrative or clerical tasks such as setting up appointments for new and existing patients, verifying insurance information before appointments, and answering phone calls.

Front office coordinator vs referral coordinator salary

Front office coordinators and referral coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Office Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Average salary	$32,844	$35,179
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Maine
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Horizon Laser Vision
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between front office coordinator and referral coordinator education

There are a few differences between a front office coordinator and a referral coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Front Office Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Front office coordinator vs referral coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between front office coordinators' and referral coordinators' demographics:

	Front Office Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Average age	47	49
Gender ratio	Male, 9.0% Female, 91.0%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	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	6%	9%

Differences between front office coordinator and referral coordinator duties and responsibilities

Front office coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage medical records and other patient information within HIPPA guidelines.
Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
Work in Kronos to enter miss punches or correct time for employees when payroll is due.
Apply proper ICD-9 and CPT coding to patient invoices and submit claims to insurance companies for proper reimbursement.
Monitor physician documentation in EHR versus fee ticket and verify that the correct ICD9 and CPT codes are being used.
Maintain confidentiality of patient privacy in compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Referral coordinator example responsibilities.

Establish rapport with all PCP offices, hospital personnel, and manage care representatives.
Ensure CPT and ICD-9 coding are accurate and complete according to AMA's guidelines and for third party intermediaries.
Contact medical insurance companies and provide ICD-9 diagnosis and CPT procedure codes for patient's illness, condition or injury.
Apply ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes to complete referral requests online or via fax.
Conduct the entire office's EHR process and create a system to track old and new patient's records.
Incorporate core organizational values of quality, respect, integrity, partnership, and compassion in all activities and decisions.

Front office coordinator vs referral coordinator skills

Common front office coordinator skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 5%
Front Desk, 4%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Patient Charts, 3%

Common referral coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 12%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
EMR, 3%

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Front Office Coordinator
Front Office Coordinator vs Referral Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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