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Medical consultant vs specialist

The differences between medical consultants and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a medical consultant, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical consultant has an average salary of $194,384, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.

The top three skills for a medical consultant include patients, patient care and surgery. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Medical consultant vs specialist overview

Medical ConsultantSpecialist
Yearly salary$194,384$58,013
Hourly rate$93.45$27.89
Growth rate28%10%
Number of jobs77,013358,433
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4742
Years of experience62

What does a medical consultant do?

A medical consultant assists doctors and other medical staff in running a healthcare facility. They give advice on matters such as salaries, staffing, advertising, safety, patient confidentiality and insurance plan compliance. They are also responsible for gathering and analyzing data, coming up with conclusions, providing recommendations to the employer, helping the institution ensure they are compliant with insurance and safety standards, and offering advice that will help optimize the performance of the health facility.

What does a specialist do?

Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.

Medical consultant vs specialist salary

Medical consultants and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical ConsultantSpecialist
Average salary$194,384$58,013
Salary rangeBetween $100,000 And $374,000Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying CityChicago, ILJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateDelawareNew Jersey
Best paying companyBerkshire HathawayThe Citadel
Best paying industryPharmaceutical-

Differences between medical consultant and specialist education

There are a few differences between a medical consultant and a specialist in terms of educational background:

Medical ConsultantSpecialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorNursingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Medical consultant vs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between medical consultants' and specialists' demographics:

Medical ConsultantSpecialist
Average age4742
Gender ratioMale, 46.4% Female, 53.6%Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 8.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage12%11%

Differences between medical consultant and specialist duties and responsibilities

Medical consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage CMS require oversight of in-home, at-risk Medicare member care management programs through chart audit and NCQA on-site visits.
  • Lead the planning, organization, execution, and analysis of coding, billing, HIPAA, and OSHA audits.
  • Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
  • Function as the primary office safety, health, OSHA, HIPPA representative.
  • Experience in dental CPT and ICD-9, as well as medical CPT and ICD-9 coding.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of ICD-9-CM and CPT coding guidelines, medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.
  • Show more

Specialist example responsibilities.

  • Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
  • Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
  • Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
  • Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
  • Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
  • Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).
  • Show more

Medical consultant vs specialist skills

Common medical consultant skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Patient Care, 10%
  • Surgery, 8%
  • Medical Care, 7%
  • Oncology, 6%
  • Medical Services, 6%
Common specialist skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Work Ethic, 5%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Exceptional Client, 4%
  • Troubleshoot, 4%

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