Medical case manager vs medical director

The differences between medical case managers and medical directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a medical case manager and a medical director. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $42,432 average annual salary of a medical case manager.

The top three skills for a medical case manager include patients, rehabilitation and care coordination. The most important skills for a medical director are patients, medical care, and medical services.

Medical case manager vs medical director overview

	Medical Case Manager	Medical Director
Yearly salary	$42,432	$230,317
Hourly rate	$20.40	$110.73
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	85,820	75,810
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a medical case manager do?

The primary role of a Medical Case Manager is to monitor the patients treatment plan to ensure that physicians are doing their jobs properly. They are also responsible for improving the quality of patient services, increasing revenue, analyzing the information gathered by investigations, and reporting recommendations.

What does a medical director do?

A medical director is responsible for handling the overall supervision of different medical departments, managing the coordination between medical teams to ensure smooth operations and achieve high-quality care services for the patients. Medical directors enforce strict guidelines and safety measures for everyone's adherence. They also implement medical care programs, recruit medical staff, inspect the adequacy of medical equipment, respond to patient's inquiries and concerns, and oversee the facilities' procedures. A medical director manages the budget of the department, allocating equal resources to address every need.

Medical case manager vs medical director salary

Medical case managers and medical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Case Manager	Medical Director
Average salary	$42,432	$230,317
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $67,000	Between $143,000 And $369,000
Highest paying City	Walnut Creek, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	AIG	UnitedHealth Group
Best paying industry	Insurance	Insurance

Differences between medical case manager and medical director education

There are a few differences between a medical case manager and a medical director in terms of educational background:

	Medical Case Manager	Medical Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Nursing	Medicine
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Medical case manager vs medical director demographics

Here are the differences between medical case managers' and medical directors' demographics:

	Medical Case Manager	Medical Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 19.8% Female, 80.2%	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between medical case manager and medical director duties and responsibilities

Medical case manager example responsibilities.

Provide clients support with basic ADL's (shopping, payee services, budgets, managing and attending appointments).
Facilitate rehabilitation plans with TPA/Provider/Treatment team to provide professional case management services to catastrophically injure patients after auto injury.
Collaborate with inpatient medical team and case management department to promote effective discharge planning and utilization management of hospitalize patients.
Coordinate medical management and vocational rehabilitation.
Attend weekly DHS case conferences to ensure client compliance and progress with obtaining and securing permanent housing.
Report, maintain, and update case data, goal attainment, and outcomes into the HMIS system.

Medical director example responsibilities.

Manage OPD for acute injuries.
Manage patients with diabetes, hypertension and other medical problems.
Manage patients living with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other sexually transmit infections.
Manage hypertension and diabetes in elderly patients
Conduct psychiatry evaluations and treatment, manage co-occurring disorders.
Manage budget planning, forecasting and accruals for improve financial management.

Medical case manager vs medical director skills

Common medical case manager skills

Patients, 18%
Rehabilitation, 8%
Care Coordination, 7%
Social Work, 6%
Home Health, 6%
Customer Service, 6%

Common medical director skills

Patients, 12%
Medical Care, 7%
Medical Services, 6%
Utilization Review, 5%
Appeals, 5%
Internal Medicine, 4%

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Medical Case Manager
Medical Case Manager vs Medical Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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