Patient access representative vs patient registrar

The differences between patient access representatives and patient registrars can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patient access representative and a patient registrar. Additionally, a patient access representative has an average salary of $33,603, which is higher than the $33,494 average annual salary of a patient registrar.

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

Patient access representative vs patient registrar overview

	Patient Access Representative	Patient Registrar
Yearly salary	$33,603	$33,494
Hourly rate	$16.16	$16.10
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	151,077	86,721
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

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 a patient registrar do?

A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.

Patient access representative vs patient registrar salary

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

	Patient Access Representative	Patient Registrar
Average salary	$33,603	$33,494
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $41,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient access representative and patient registrar education

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

	Patient Access Representative	Patient Registrar
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient access representative vs patient registrar demographics

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

	Patient Access Representative	Patient Registrar
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient access representative and patient registrar 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.

Patient registrar example responsibilities.

Process release of information requests according to HIPAA regulations and manage valuables safe for entire facility.
Specialize in high degree of compassion when communicating with patients providing information and insurance details.
Receive patients, record patient demographic information and verify insurance for emergency department, laboratory, and radiology
Register patients and ensure correctness of all demographic information in AS400, verify insurance on various websites and collect patient co-payments.
Update demographics, billing information, Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance during patient interviews to obtain pertinent registration information.
Enter confidential personal health information and financial information into IDX system with a high rate of accuracy and confidentiality.

Patient access representative vs patient registrar skills

Common patient access representative skills

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

Common patient registrar skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 11%
Medical Terminology, 11%
Patient Registration, 4%
Patient Care, 4%
Insurance Verification, 3%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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