Medical science liaison vs medical director

The differences between medical science liaisons and medical directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a medical science liaison, becoming a medical director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a medical director has an average salary of $230,317, which is higher than the $145,718 average annual salary of a medical science liaison.

The top three skills for a medical science liaison include patients, medical affairs and MSL. The most important skills for a medical director are patients, medical care, and medical services.

Medical science liaison vs medical director overview

	Medical Science Liaison	Medical Director
Yearly salary	$145,718	$230,317
Hourly rate	$70.06	$110.73
Growth rate	17%	28%
Number of jobs	57,208	75,810
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	4	6

What does a medical science liaison do?

A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.

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 science liaison vs medical director salary

Medical science liaisons and medical directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Science Liaison	Medical Director
Average salary	$145,718	$230,317
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $359,000	Between $143,000 And $369,000
Highest paying City	Jackson, TN	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Tennessee	Alaska
Best paying company	Saint Luke's Health System	UnitedHealth Group
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Insurance

Differences between medical science liaison and medical director education

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

	Medical Science Liaison	Medical Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Nursing	Medicine
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Medical science liaison vs medical director demographics

Here are the differences between medical science liaisons' and medical directors' demographics:

	Medical Science Liaison	Medical Director
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	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	8%	12%

Differences between medical science liaison and medical director duties and responsibilities

Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.

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 science liaison vs medical director skills

Common medical science liaison skills

Patients, 11%
Medical Affairs, 9%
MSL, 7%
Medical Science, 6%
Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
Internal Stakeholders, 4%

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 Science Liaison
Medical Science Liaison vs Medical Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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