Post job

Health care assistant vs health care provider

The differences between health care assistants and health care providers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health care provider has an average salary of $39,309, which is higher than the $34,892 average annual salary of a health care assistant.

The top three skills for a health care assistant include patients, customer service and healthcare. The most important skills for a health care provider are patients, meal prep, and mental health.

Health care assistant vs health care provider overview

Health Care AssistantHealth Care Provider
Yearly salary$34,892$39,309
Hourly rate$16.77$18.90
Growth rate36%36%
Number of jobs242,669236,098
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%High School Diploma, 31%
Average age5050
Years of experience--

What does a health care assistant do?

A health care assistant primarily performs support tasks to help nurses in providing care and assistance to patients. Their duties usually include assisting patients with their daily hygienic tasks such as bathing, going to the toilet, dressing, and brushing their teeth. They may also prepare meals according to protocols and guidelines, feed patients, assist them when walking, and run other errands as necessary. Most importantly, a health care assistant monitors the patients' condition and their treatment progress, coordinating with the nurses and physicians regularly.

What does a health care provider do?

A health care provider offers health care services such as the diagnosis of diseases in medical laboratories, imaging centers, or treatment services. Your job responsibility as a health care provider may be to look after the well-being of patients and provide specific medical care to them. Your job is to meet clients at the point of their needs when they have medical challenges and provide a solution to them.

Health care assistant vs health care provider salary

Health care assistants and health care providers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health Care AssistantHealth Care Provider
Average salary$34,892$39,309
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $47,000Between $25,000 And $61,000
Highest paying CityAntioch, CA-
Highest paying stateAlaska-
Best paying companyMedical University of South Carolina-
Best paying industryEducation-

Differences between health care assistant and health care provider education

There are a few differences between a health care assistant and a health care provider in terms of educational background:

Health Care AssistantHealth Care Provider
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%High School Diploma, 31%
Most common majorNursingBusiness
Most common college--

Health care assistant vs health care provider demographics

Here are the differences between health care assistants' and health care providers' demographics:

Health Care AssistantHealth Care Provider
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 18.8% Female, 81.2%Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between health care assistant and health care provider duties and responsibilities

Health care assistant example responsibilities.

  • Monitor / enforce OSHA standards and coordinate / lead daily, weekly, and monthly safety meetings to educate staff.
  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Facilitate physical therapy exercises, positional rotation, monitor medication compliance and effects, provide companionship, carry out ADL's.
  • care professional, extremely competent, providing guidance and counseling for rehabilitation of mentally disturb patients.
  • Process consults requests for electrophysiology, EKG and other services.
  • Assist train staff in the event of cardiac arrest and actively participate in CPR.
  • Show more

Health care provider example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Provide assistance including administering prescribe oral medications to ADL patients.
  • Maintain all client confidentiality, licensing and CPR compliance records.
  • Full personal care attendant, CPR license, documentation, friendly and courteous.
  • Help with daily activities, transfers, bathing, medical documentation, ordering supplies, and catheter care.
  • Provide support and aid in problematic situations involving incontinence, cognitive impairment, mobility, and Alzheimer care.
  • Show more

Health care assistant vs health care provider skills

Common health care assistant skills
  • Patients, 20%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Healthcare, 10%
  • Patient Appointments, 8%
  • Direct Patient Care, 8%
  • Medical Equipment, 7%
Common health care provider skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Meal Prep, 11%
  • Mental Health, 9%
  • Social Work, 8%
  • Laundry Services, 7%
  • Home Health, 7%

Browse healthcare support jobs