Patient access representative vs office representative

The differences between patient access representatives and office representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a patient access representative, becoming an office representative takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient access representative has an average salary of $33,603, which is higher than the $32,535 average annual salary of an office representative.

The top three skills for a patient access representative include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for an office representative are patients, customer service, and phone calls.

Patient access representative vs office representative overview

	Patient Access Representative	Office Representative
Yearly salary	$33,603	$32,535
Hourly rate	$16.16	$15.64
Growth rate	-4%	-5%
Number of jobs	151,077	149,852
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	40	47
Years of experience	4	2

What does a patient access representative do?

A Patient Access Representative is the first point of contact of a patient in a hospital facility. Among the duties include the checking-in and out of a patient, gathering a patient's information for the Doctors and Nurses to use, communicates with the patient's family or caregivers, and processes insurance billing. Most of the time, A Patient Access Representative encounters the critically ill or injured which is why one must possess great communication skills and compassion.

What does an office representative do?

Office Representatives are administrative professionals assigned to do various admin work in the office. They are in charge of managing communication lines, correspondences, and packages. They are often assigned to sort documents, update records, and file papers in the proper cabinets. Office representatives are considered front desk officers as well. They respond to inquiries by guests, direct guests to their meeting areas, and receive mail. They may also be assigned to manage meeting rooms and update appointment calendars. They should have good communication skills and should be service-oriented.

Patient access representative vs office representative salary

Patient access representatives and office representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Access Representative	Office Representative
Average salary	$33,603	$32,535
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $41,000	Between $23,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New York
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Citi
Best paying industry	Health Care	Agriculture

Differences between patient access representative and office representative education

There are a few differences between a patient access representative and an office representative in terms of educational background:

	Patient Access Representative	Office Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Patient access representative vs office representative demographics

Here are the differences between patient access representatives' and office representatives' demographics:

	Patient Access Representative	Office Representative
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%	Male, 26.6% Female, 73.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between patient access representative and office representative duties and responsibilities

Patient access representative example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPPA and clinic.
Conduct intensive screening of all Medicare, Medicaid and manage care patients for provider service eligibility.
Educate eligible applicants about Medicaid manage care and how to access benefits in a manage care environment.
Run internal reports to ensure ICD 9 and CPT procedure codes are accurate for billing for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Deliver quality customer service and compassion while obtaining demographic and financial data from patients seeking emergency medical services.
Operate front desk check-in, preparation of charts, receive payments and balance books at the end of the day.

Office representative example responsibilities.

Manage the medical front office and coordinate business operations with physicians and legal staff for a busy MRI facility.
Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Reconcile any EOB, insurance payment or discount errors.
Perform physician coding abstracting medical records with ICD-10, and CPT.
Post payments and enter charges utilizing appropriate ICD9 and CPT codes.

Patient access representative vs office representative skills

Common patient access representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 9%
Patient Care, 5%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%

Common office representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 13%
Phone Calls, 8%
Patient Appointments, 7%
EMR, 5%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Access Representative
Patient Access Representative vs Office Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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