Patient care manager vs medical consultant

The differences between patient care managers and medical consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a patient care manager and a medical consultant. Additionally, a medical consultant has an average salary of $194,384, which is higher than the $65,369 average annual salary of a patient care manager.

The top three skills for a patient care manager include home health, patients and quality care. The most important skills for a medical consultant are patients, patient care, and surgery.

Patient care manager vs medical consultant overview

	Patient Care Manager	Medical Consultant
Yearly salary	$65,369	$194,384
Hourly rate	$31.43	$93.45
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	123,652	77,013
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a patient care manager do?

Patient care managers are executives who are in charge of supervising a clinical team. The managers take responsibility for directing patient care within an organization. Also called health care managers, they protect every patient's safety and health in a clinical setting. They interact with the healthcare team members to maintain open communication. It is also part of their duties to supervise the daily operations in the clinical care units. Managing clinical budgets and maintaining quality health services are also their responsibilities.

What does a medical consultant do?

A medical consultant assists doctors and other medical staff in running a healthcare facility. They give advice on matters such as salaries, staffing, advertising, safety, patient confidentiality and insurance plan compliance. They are also responsible for gathering and analyzing data, coming up with conclusions, providing recommendations to the employer, helping the institution ensure they are compliant with insurance and safety standards, and offering advice that will help optimize the performance of the health facility.

Patient care manager vs medical consultant salary

Patient care managers and medical consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Care Manager	Medical Consultant
Average salary	$65,369	$194,384
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $117,000	Between $100,000 And $374,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	California	Delaware
Best paying company	Accenture	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	Health Care	Pharmaceutical

Differences between patient care manager and medical consultant education

There are a few differences between a patient care manager and a medical consultant in terms of educational background:

	Patient Care Manager	Medical Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient care manager vs medical consultant demographics

Here are the differences between patient care managers' and medical consultants' demographics:

	Patient Care Manager	Medical Consultant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%	Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 8.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between patient care manager and medical consultant duties and responsibilities

Patient care manager example responsibilities.

Manage complicated cases involving serious injuries, medical evacuations, cruise ship disembarkation, and repatriation of remains with compassion.
Direct oversight of all case management and education relate to chronic disease and primary care management.
Utilize resources such as financial and pharmacy assistance for uninsure patients to receive professional medical care upon discharge.
Prevent unnecessary hospital admissions using keen assessment skills and redirecting to PCP's office when appropriate.
Ensure compliance both with HIPAA and CMS, to include all audits and enrollments via Medicare.
Plant and maintain flower beds such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, and pruning.

Medical consultant example responsibilities.

Manage CMS require oversight of in-home, at-risk Medicare member care management programs through chart audit and NCQA on-site visits.
Lead the planning, organization, execution, and analysis of coding, billing, HIPAA, and OSHA audits.
Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Function as the primary office safety, health, OSHA, HIPPA representative.
Experience in dental CPT and ICD-9, as well as medical CPT and ICD-9 coding.
Demonstrate knowledge of ICD-9-CM and CPT coding guidelines, medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.

Patient care manager vs medical consultant skills

Common patient care manager skills

Home Health, 15%
Patients, 12%
Quality Care, 8%
Social Work, 7%
Community Resources, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

Common medical consultant skills

Patients, 22%
Patient Care, 10%
Surgery, 8%
Medical Care, 7%
Oncology, 6%
Medical Services, 6%

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Patient Care Manager
Patient Care Manager vs Medical Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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