Medical billing, receptionist vs medical assistant

The differences between medical billings, receptionist and medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical billing, receptionist, becoming a medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical assistant has an average salary of $34,900, which is higher than the $34,622 average annual salary of a medical billing, receptionist.

The top three skills for a medical billing, receptionist include patients, medical billing and data entry. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.

Medical billing, receptionist vs medical assistant overview

	Medical Billing, Receptionist	Medical Assistant
Yearly salary	$34,622	$34,900
Hourly rate	$16.65	$16.78
Growth rate	-3%	16%
Number of jobs	115,714	189,915
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Associate Degree, 24%
Average age	46	37
Years of experience	2	12

What does a medical billing, receptionist do?

A medical billing receptionist serves as the main point of contact in a hospital. Their responsibilities revolve around greeting patients and attending to their needs, gathering and maintaining records, and checking-in patients. They also have administrative support tasks such as answering calls and responding to inquiries, arranging appointments and schedules, producing reports, keeping documentation, and handling billing processes, including insurance. Moreover, a medical billing receptionist must be alert and proactive as the conditions in a hospital can be very unpredictable.

What does a medical assistant do?

Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.

Medical billing, receptionist vs medical assistant salary

Medical billings, receptionist and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Billing, Receptionist	Medical Assistant
Average salary	$34,622	$34,900
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between medical billing, receptionist and medical assistant education

There are a few differences between a medical billing, receptionist and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:

	Medical Billing, Receptionist	Medical Assistant
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Associate Degree, 24%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Medical billing, receptionist vs medical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between medical billings, receptionist' and medical assistants' demographics:

	Medical Billing, Receptionist	Medical Assistant
Average age	46	37
Gender ratio	Male, 9.5% Female, 90.5%	Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between medical billing, receptionist and medical assistant duties and responsibilities

Medical billing, receptionist example responsibilities.

Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Revise CPT codes and ICD-10 codes before submitting to insurance for chiropractic services and durable medical equipment.
Review and research ICD-9 and CPT codes that are denied by payers, and contact physician offices to assist with correction.
Submit secondary insurance claims with primary insurance EOB.
Facilitate medical billing and coding by interfacing with insurance companies and patients to ensure proper billing procedures.
Discuss physicians' choice of E/M level when in question.

Medical assistant example responsibilities.

Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Participate in emergency surgical intervention in obstetrics and gynecology patients.
Demonstrate proficiency in taking patient history and vitals, venipuncture, injections, urinalysis and preparing examination trays.
Attend to new out patients in gynecology clinic, make clinical diagnosis and follow up.
Provide RMA support to physician, and patients, including but not limit to vitals and patient history.

Medical billing, receptionist vs medical assistant skills

Common medical billing, receptionist skills

Patients, 21%
Medical Billing, 7%
Data Entry, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
CPT, 4%
Medicaid, 4%

Common medical assistant skills

Patients, 20%
Vital Signs, 10%
Patient Care, 9%
Phlebotomy, 4%
CPR, 4%
EKG, 4%

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Medical Billing, Receptionist
Medical Billing, Receptionist vs Medical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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