Patient care coordinator vs medication coordinator

The differences between patient care coordinators and medication 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 a medication coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medication coordinator has an average salary of $41,887, 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 a medication coordinator are patients, triage, and HIPAA.

Patient care coordinator vs medication coordinator overview

	Patient Care Coordinator	Medication Coordinator
Yearly salary	$34,884	$41,887
Hourly rate	$16.77	$20.14
Growth rate	-4%	-8%
Number of jobs	139,431	67,303
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	40	49
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 a medication coordinator do?

A medication care coordinator communicates on the job with basic knowledge of medical terminology and human anatomy to ensure that patient medication plans are correct. Medication care coordinators establish relationships with healthcare clinic partners. They serve as liaisons between pharmacies and patients. Their skills to acquire include knowledge and experience in patient care, customer service, medical standards, and treatment plans. They should also develop strong communication skills, attention to detail, and patient relations.

Patient care coordinator vs medication coordinator salary

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Medication Coordinator
Average salary	$34,884	$41,887
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Homestead Hospice	Catholic Health Care System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Pharmaceutical

Differences between patient care coordinator and medication coordinator education

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Medication Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient care coordinator vs medication coordinator demographics

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Medication Coordinator
Average age	40	49
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between patient care coordinator and medication 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.

Medication coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage patient's accounts collecting and billing financial statements, budgets and expertise with CPT and ICD-9 coding.
Manage inpatient transfers to rehabilitation and medical facilities, along with preparing and monitoring outpatient billings insurance verification and referrals.
Complete records after patients complete all medical appointments, typing intake forms and additional entries/forms, and obtain physician signatures.
Navigate effectively through an electronic medical records (EMR) system.
Develop plan for confidentiality of client and agency information through HIPAA guidelines.
Perform Medicare and Medicaid audits on members using company medical policy and establish criteria for H.C.F.A.

Patient care coordinator vs medication 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 medication coordinator skills

Patients, 13%
Triage, 6%
HIPAA, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Test Results, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Care Coordinator
Patient Care Coordinator vs Medication Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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