Medical administrator vs referral coordinator

The differences between medical administrators 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 medical administrator and a referral coordinator. Additionally, a medical administrator has an average salary of $35,713, which is higher than the $35,179 average annual salary of a referral coordinator.

The top three skills for a medical administrator include patients, patient care and medical terminology. The most important skills for a referral coordinator are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Medical administrator vs referral coordinator overview

	Medical Administrator	Referral Coordinator
Yearly salary	$35,713	$35,179
Hourly rate	$17.17	$16.91
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	104,510	65,934
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	2	2

What does a medical administrator do?

A medical administrator is in charge of overseeing a medical facility's daily operations, ensuring the efficiency of all services and processes. Among their responsibilities include setting goals and guidelines, studying the feedback of different parties, gathering and analyzing data to identify areas needing improvement, planning and organizing new services and projects, managing the medical staff, and developing strategies to optimize operations. They may also develop training programs for new and current employees, coordinating with experts in the medical field. Furthermore, as a medical administrator, it is essential to lead the workforce while implementing the hospital's policies and regulations.

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.

Medical administrator vs referral coordinator salary

Medical administrators and referral coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Administrator	Referral Coordinator
Average salary	$35,713	$35,179
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Hillsborough, NJ	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Maine
Best paying company	W. R. Berkley	Horizon Laser Vision
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between medical administrator and referral coordinator education

There are a few differences between a medical administrator and a referral coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Medical Administrator	Referral Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Medical administrator vs referral coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between medical administrators' and referral coordinators' demographics:

	Medical Administrator	Referral Coordinator
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
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, 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 medical administrator and referral coordinator duties and responsibilities

Medical administrator example responsibilities.

Facilitate client relationships and manage surgery schedules, financial consultations, follow up care and ongoing maintenance.
Maintain a working knowledge and understanding of CPT and ICD-10 codes.
Provide patients with information explaining hospital admission policies, time of admission, and HIPPA privacy guidelines.
Receive and fulfill requests for release of information to patients and external providers following HIPPA guidelines
Attend classes to improve proficiency in billing using CPT and ICD9 codes with special modifiers.
Verify coverage for third-party insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and out of network benefits.

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.

Medical administrator vs referral coordinator skills

Common medical administrator skills

Patients, 29%
Patient Care, 10%
Medical Terminology, 7%
HIPAA, 6%
CPT, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common referral coordinator skills

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

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Medical Administrator
Medical Administrator vs Referral Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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