How To Become A Patient Administration Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a patient administration specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Mindy Badía Ph.D.

The average patient administration specialist salary is $34,785. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a patient administration specialist. Patient administration specialists with a Medical Assistant certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -4% and produce -105,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a patient administration specialist?

Dr. Mindy Badía Ph.D.

Professor of Spanish and International Studies, Indiana University Southeast

The three P's: be patient, be persistent, and be prepared.

ScorePatient Administration SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,785

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.71%

Asian 6.14%

Black or African American 13.19%

Hispanic or Latino 21.01%

Unknown 5.30%

White 53.64%

Gender

female 66.67%

male 33.33%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a patient administration specialist

Explore patient administration specialist education requirements

Most common patient administration specialist degrees

Bachelor's

35.5 %

Associate

26.6 %

High School Diploma

18.3 %

Start to develop specific patient administration specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	55.03%
Statistical Reports	15.18%
Patient Care	9.19%
Medical Terminology	2.45%
Patient Flow	1.66%

Complete relevant patient administration specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New patient administration specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a patient administration specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real patient administration specialist resumes.

Research patient administration specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage the front desk in various inpatient/outpatient settings; deal with patient's sensitive medical records and documents according to HIPAA regulations
Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Maintain medical record request from patients and other facilities, releasing medical records according to HIPPA regulations.
Code diagnoses according to CPT coding and ICD-9 version medical standards.

Prepare your patient administration specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your patient administration specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a patient administration specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable patient administration specialist resume templates

Build a professional patient administration specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your patient administration specialist resume.

Apply for patient administration specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a patient administration specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do patient administration specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Patient administration specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Putting that patient/customet first and directing (directions) that person to their Doctors office and setting or cancelling their appointments, just helping people.

Cons

There's nothing to dislike.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019