Medical scheduler vs patient care specialist

The differences between medical schedulers and patient care specialists 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 scheduler, becoming a patient care specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a patient care specialist has an average salary of $34,157, 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 patient care specialist are patients, patient care, and data entry.

Medical scheduler vs patient care specialist overview

	Medical Scheduler	Patient Care Specialist
Yearly salary	$32,201	$34,157
Hourly rate	$15.48	$16.42
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	67,831	146,861
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	49	40
Years of experience	2	4

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 patient care specialist do?

A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.

Medical scheduler vs patient care specialist salary

Medical schedulers and patient care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Scheduler	Patient Care Specialist
Average salary	$32,201	$34,157
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $20,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Beacon Hill Staffing Group	KPG
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical scheduler and patient care specialist education

There are a few differences between a medical scheduler and a patient care specialist in terms of educational background:

	Medical Scheduler	Patient Care Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Medical scheduler vs patient care specialist demographics

Here are the differences between medical schedulers' and patient care specialists' demographics:

	Medical Scheduler	Patient Care Specialist
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 8.0% Female, 92.0%	Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between medical scheduler and patient care specialist 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.

Patient care specialist example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Utilize software applications to document call interactions using medical terminology and responsible for initially engaging patients by explaining the services.
Verify CPT codes along with diagnosis code for guarantee payment for surgeries.
Process daily fee tickets and correctly enter office visit ICD 9 and CPT codes into the system for billing.
Adhere to HIPPA confidentiality guidelines.
Track Medicaid eligibility of clients.

Medical scheduler vs patient care specialist skills

Common medical scheduler skills

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

Common patient care specialist skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Care, 17%
Data Entry, 5%
Medical Terminology, 4%
CPT, 2%
CPR, 2%

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Medical Scheduler
Medical Scheduler vs Patient Care Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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