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The differences between medication aides and patient services assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a medication aide and a patient services assistant. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $33,879 average annual salary of a patient services assistant.
The top three skills for a medication aide include compassion, resident care and state regulations. The most important skills for a patient services assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Medication Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,799 | $33,879 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $16.29 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 275,582 | 273,881 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 23% | Bachelor's Degree, 26% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.
A patient services assistant is responsible for handling initial patients' assessments by scheduling appointments. They also are responsible for processing patients' referrals to the appropriate medical professional and admission payments, validating health insurance details, recording patient's information on the database, and assessing medical history and related health information. A patient services assistant also responds to the patients' inquiries and concerns, provides health services recommendations, and processes medical procedures. A patient services assistant must have excellent communication and time-management skills and the ability to perform administrative and clerical tasks as needed.
Medication aides and patient services assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medication Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,799 | $33,879 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $50,000 | Between $24,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Madison, WI | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company | Adobe |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Government |
There are a few differences between a medication aide and a patient services assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medication Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 23% | Bachelor's Degree, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medication aides' and patient services assistants' demographics:
| Medication Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3% | Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |