Medical director vs program director

The differences between medical directors and program 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 director and a program director. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $80,664 average annual salary of a program director.

The top three skills for a medical director include patients, medical care and medical services. The most important skills for a program director are oversight, social work, and patients.

Medical director vs program director overview

	Medical Director	Program Director
Yearly salary	$230,317	$80,664
Hourly rate	$110.73	$38.78
Growth rate	28%	8%
Number of jobs	75,810	82,810
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	47	40
Years of experience	6	6

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.

What does a program director do?

Program directors are employees who oversee all aspects of a specific program in the company. They usually work in nonprofit organizations or are assigned to a department doing corporate social responsibility activities. Program directors ensure that the program is in line with the company's goals. They also ensure that the resources assigned to the program are properly managed and that all finances are accounted for. They create strategies to ensure the success of the program and communicate these to everyone involved. They lead the implementation and evaluation of the program.

Medical director vs program director salary

Medical directors and program directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Director	Program Director
Average salary	$230,317	$80,664
Salary range	Between $143,000 And $369,000	Between $50,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Georgia
Best paying company	UnitedHealth Group	Mayo Clinic
Best paying industry	Insurance	Technology

Differences between medical director and program director education

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

	Medical Director	Program Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Medicine	Business
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Stanford University

Medical director vs program director demographics

Here are the differences between medical directors' and program directors' demographics:

	Medical Director	Program Director
Average age	47	40
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	14%

Differences between medical director and program director duties and responsibilities

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.

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Program director example responsibilities.

Manage personnel performing SAS programming, technical document preparation and quality assurance.
Manage program budgets and supervise staff to ensure that immunization and registry activities are successfully implement.
Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
Manage day-to-day oversight and management involving planning, programming, execution, distribution, and analysis for assign organizations budgets.
Implement client ADL, ISP, and behavior plans in a group home.
Organize schedule for swim lessons and kids camp.

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Medical director vs program director skills

Common medical director skills

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

Common program director skills

Oversight, 9%
Social Work, 6%
Patients, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Mental Health, 5%
Program Management, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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