Outpatient clerk vs registration specialist

The differences between outpatient clerks and registration specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an outpatient clerk, becoming a registration specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outpatient clerk has an average salary of $32,917, which is higher than the $30,422 average annual salary of a registration specialist.

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

Outpatient clerk vs registration specialist overview

	Outpatient Clerk	Registration Specialist
Yearly salary	$32,917	$30,422
Hourly rate	$15.83	$14.63
Growth rate	-5%	-4%
Number of jobs	71,739	79,118
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	47	40
Years of experience	2	4

Outpatient clerk vs registration specialist salary

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

	Outpatient Clerk	Registration Specialist
Average salary	$32,917	$30,422
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $23,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Deloitte
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between outpatient clerk and registration specialist education

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

	Outpatient Clerk	Registration Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Outpatient clerk vs registration specialist demographics

Here are the differences between outpatient clerks' and registration specialists' demographics:

	Outpatient Clerk	Registration Specialist
Average age	47	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between outpatient clerk and registration specialist 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.

Registration specialist example responsibilities.

Attain and authenticate patient insurance information, counsel patients on changes in insurance policies, verify patient demographics.
Help patients through the registration and admitting processes and also contribute to the PBX department.
Input data entries for insurance billing; adding CPT codes and diagnosis from face sheets as patients arrive.
Act as hospital PBX operator.
Complete all charge entry, enter all CPT and ICD-9 codes for billing for multiple doctors each day.
Enter patient information and verify information according to HIPAA regulations.

Outpatient clerk vs registration specialist skills

Common outpatient clerk skills

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

Common registration specialist skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 14%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Data Entry, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Outpatient Clerk
Outpatient Clerk vs Registration Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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