Medical scheduler vs front office coordinator

The differences between medical schedulers and front office 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 scheduler and a front office coordinator. Additionally, a front office coordinator has an average salary of $32,844, which is higher than the $32,201 average annual salary of a medical scheduler.

The top three skills for a medical scheduler include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a front office coordinator are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Medical scheduler vs front office coordinator overview

	Medical Scheduler	Front Office Coordinator
Yearly salary	$32,201	$32,844
Hourly rate	$15.48	$15.79
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	67,831	131,810
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	49	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a medical scheduler do?

A medical scheduler typically works with patients to coordinate appointment dates and times with health care professionals. Medical schedulers often work in hospitals, outpatient care centers, and other medical practices. They perform other duties aside from managing patients' schedules that includes providing patients the information they need about the hospital and its policies, providing patient support, and handling and managing questions from patients. Medical schedulers also act as a link between patients, clinical staff, and referral sources.

What does a front office coordinator do?

A front office coordinator is responsible for assisting clients with their inquiries and concerns and directing them to the appropriate department and personnel to immediately address their needs. Front office coordinators schedule appointments, verify visitors' identities by checking their credentials for security purposes, processing service payments, updating customers' data and visitation log on the database, and escalating high-level complaints. A front office coordinator also performs administrative and clerical tasks as needed, requiring them to have excellent time-management and organizational skills.

Medical scheduler vs front office coordinator salary

Medical schedulers and front office coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Scheduler	Front Office Coordinator
Average salary	$32,201	$32,844
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Beacon Hill Staffing Group	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical scheduler and front office coordinator education

There are a few differences between a medical scheduler and a front office coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Medical Scheduler	Front Office Coordinator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Medical scheduler vs front office coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between medical schedulers' and front office coordinators' demographics:

	Medical Scheduler	Front Office Coordinator
Average age	49	47
Gender ratio	Male, 8.0% Female, 92.0%	Male, 9.0% Female, 91.0%
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, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between medical scheduler and front office coordinator duties and responsibilities

Medical scheduler example responsibilities.

Manage patient pre-op responsibilities, and generate all necessary paperwork.
Schedule patients for any testing that is necessary including MRI's, EMG's and Doppler's.
Transcribe physician orders including schedule labs, testing and screening/specimens and occasionally transport patients to various location of the hospital.
Prepare class for transition techniques to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10.
Perform basic medical assistant duties such as triage, vitals, administer IM injections.
Answer multiple phone lines simultaneously, schedule patient appointments, and interact with physicians and triage patient calls.

Front office coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage medical records and other patient information within HIPPA guidelines.
Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
Work in Kronos to enter miss punches or correct time for employees when payroll is due.
Apply proper ICD-9 and CPT coding to patient invoices and submit claims to insurance companies for proper reimbursement.
Monitor physician documentation in EHR versus fee ticket and verify that the correct ICD9 and CPT codes are being used.
Maintain confidentiality of patient privacy in compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Medical scheduler vs front office coordinator skills

Common medical scheduler skills

Patients, 29%
Customer Service, 15%
Medical Terminology, 6%
EMR, 5%
Data Entry, 3%
Insurance Verification, 3%

Common front office coordinator skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 5%
Front Desk, 4%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Patient Charts, 3%

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Medical Scheduler
Medical Scheduler vs Front Office Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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