Patient care coordinator vs receptionist

The differences between patient care coordinators and receptionists 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 receptionist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient care coordinator has an average salary of $34,884, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a patient care coordinator include patients, customer service and home health. The most important skills for a receptionist are patients, phone calls, and customer service.

Patient care coordinator vs receptionist overview

	Patient Care Coordinator	Receptionist
Yearly salary	$34,884	$30,571
Hourly rate	$16.77	$14.70
Growth rate	-4%	-
Number of jobs	139,431	65,671
Job satisfaction	4	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	40	42
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 receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

Patient care coordinator vs receptionist salary

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Receptionist
Average salary	$34,884	$30,571
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Homestead Hospice	Gensler
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between patient care coordinator and receptionist education

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Receptionist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient care coordinator vs receptionist demographics

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

	Patient Care Coordinator	Receptionist
Average age	40	42
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between patient care coordinator and receptionist 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.

Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

Patient care coordinator vs receptionist 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 receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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