Outpatient clerk vs medical clerk

The differences between outpatient clerks and medical clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an outpatient clerk and a medical clerk. Additionally, an outpatient clerk has an average salary of $32,917, which is higher than the $32,439 average annual salary of a medical clerk.

The top three skills for an outpatient clerk include patients, schedule appointments and data entry. The most important skills for a medical clerk are patients, medical terminology, and data entry.

Outpatient clerk vs medical clerk overview

	Outpatient Clerk	Medical Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,917	$32,439
Hourly rate	$15.83	$15.60
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,739	166,322
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 26%
Average age	47	49
Years of experience	2	2

Outpatient clerk vs medical clerk salary

Outpatient clerks and medical clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outpatient Clerk	Medical Clerk
Average salary	$32,917	$32,439
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Minnesota
Best paying company	-	Brinks Gilson
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between outpatient clerk and medical clerk education

There are a few differences between an outpatient clerk and a medical clerk in terms of educational background:

	Outpatient Clerk	Medical Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 26%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Outpatient clerk vs medical clerk demographics

Here are the differences between outpatient clerks' and medical clerks' demographics:

	Outpatient Clerk	Medical Clerk
Average age	47	49
Gender ratio	Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6%	Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between outpatient clerk and medical clerk duties and responsibilities

Outpatient clerk example responsibilities.

Manage confidential patient information according to HIPPA guidelines.
File Medicare, follow-up insurance claims, prepare Medicaid logs.
Provide proper CPT codes to outside facilities so that prior authorization can be obtain for the correct exams.
Develop and maintain databases for radiology protocol.
Determine existence of previous registration and/or update insurance and demographic information for patients.
Interact with patients to acquire insurance information, payment arrangements and any other necessary information.

Medical clerk example responsibilities.

Evaluate all EOB's to insure accurate payment is received and when necessary will file appeals to achieve optimal payments.
Follow HIPPA patient confidentiality guidelines making patients or facility have filled proper forms to release records.
File results of laboratory tests, x-rays, EKG's, etc., in patients records.
Respond and resolve patient inquiries with compassion and patience.
Prepare request for EKG tests, eye examinations, audio and dental records.
Enter deficiencies into MediTech program.

Outpatient clerk vs medical clerk skills

Common outpatient clerk skills

Patients, 23%
Schedule Appointments, 11%
Data Entry, 11%
Insurance Eligibility, 9%
Direct Phone Calls, 8%
Departmental Policies, 6%

Common medical clerk skills

Patients, 32%
Medical Terminology, 6%
Data Entry, 6%
Phone Calls, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Telephone Calls, 3%