Patient care coordinator vs ambulatory care coordinator

The differences between patient care coordinators and ambulatory care coordinators 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 care coordinator, becoming an ambulatory care coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an ambulatory care coordinator has an average salary of $40,458, which is higher than the $34,884 average annual salary of a patient care coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient care coordinator include patients, customer service and home health. The most important skills for an ambulatory care coordinator are patients, social work, and patient care.

Patient care coordinator vs ambulatory care coordinator overview

	Patient Care Coordinator	Ambulatory Care Coordinator
Yearly salary	$34,884	$40,458
Hourly rate	$16.77	$19.45
Growth rate	-4%	6%
Number of jobs	139,431	85,837
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	4	2

What does a patient care coordinator do?

A patient care coordinator or care coordinator is a trained health professional who manages patients' health care, such as the elderly or disabled. Patient care coordinators educate patients about their health conditions and develop a plan to address their personal health care needs. To comply with health care laws and regulations, care coordinators must attend training and courses so that they are updated with the new developments in health care. They are also required to take up licensure examination and should have experience in care coordination or clinical practices.

What does an ambulatory care coordinator do?

An ambulatory care coordinator coordinates with physicians to ensure that the patients' individual medical needs are identified and addressed on time. Ambulatory care coordinators work directly under the supervision of an assigned ambulatory manager and supervisor to promote patients' health and welfare through face-to-face, telephone, or email. They maintain knowledge and expertise in electronic software tools so that medical records can be encoded into the computer. Ambulatory care coordinators are also required to take the licensure exams for registered nurses.

Patient care coordinator vs ambulatory care coordinator salary

Patient care coordinators and ambulatory care coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Care Coordinator	Ambulatory Care Coordinator
Average salary	$34,884	$40,458
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $31,000 And $52,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Providence, RI
Highest paying state	Washington	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Homestead Hospice	Cook Children's Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient care coordinator and ambulatory care coordinator education

There are a few differences between a patient care coordinator and an ambulatory care coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Patient Care Coordinator	Ambulatory Care Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient care coordinator vs ambulatory care coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between patient care coordinators' and ambulatory care coordinators' demographics:

	Patient Care Coordinator	Ambulatory Care Coordinator
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 18.0% Female, 82.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 24.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between patient care coordinator and ambulatory care coordinator duties and responsibilities

Patient care coordinator example responsibilities.

Communicate with insurance companies on a continuous basis to ensure hospital reimbursement and attain authorization for home and rehabilitation services.
Manage caseload by providing care coordination to individuals with a primary intellectual/developmental disability diagnosis all of whom receive community-base waiver services.
Check in, check out patients, and do EKG's.
Gain knowledge relate to bundle payments for orthopedic patients and the rules and regulations set forth by CMS.
Respond to telephone inquiries, providing quality service to customers, PSR's and insurance representatives inquiring about patient accounts.
Prepare patients prior to MRI exam, obtain safety check lists and assist with the daily operations of the MRI department.

Ambulatory care coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage caseload by providing care coordination to individuals with a primary intellectual/developmental disability diagnosis all of whom receive community-base waiver services.
Initiate supportive counseling and crisis intervention for groups and individuals in children's rehabilitation hospital setting.
Conduct NCQA audits and quality surveys for physicians.
Assist with increasing family unity, life skills and legal entities.
Assist members with finding placement in the ALF or SNF setting.
Generate appropriate letters of authorization and denial according to NCQA and CMS guidelines.

Patient care coordinator vs ambulatory care coordinator skills

Common patient care coordinator skills

Patients, 32%
Customer Service, 13%
Home Health, 6%
Data Entry, 3%
Patient Appointments, 3%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

Common ambulatory care coordinator skills

Patients, 18%
Social Work, 8%
Patient Care, 6%
Home Health, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Patient Care Coordinator
Patient Care Coordinator vs Ambulatory Care Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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