Patient care specialist vs intake specialist

The differences between patient care specialists and intake specialists 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 specialist, becoming an intake specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an intake specialist has an average salary of $36,805, which is higher than the $34,157 average annual salary of a patient care specialist.

The top three skills for a patient care specialist include patients, patient care and data entry. The most important skills for an intake specialist are patients, customer service, and social work.

Patient care specialist vs intake specialist overview

	Patient Care Specialist	Intake Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,157	$36,805
Hourly rate	$16.42	$17.69
Growth rate	-4%	12%
Number of jobs	146,861	40,663
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	40	43
Years of experience	4	12

What does a patient care specialist do?

A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.

What does an intake specialist do?

Intake coordinators manage the registration of clients or patients for medical services in a health care facility. They talk to patients and their families, determine their needs, and ask for patients' medical history and their mental and physical state. It is part of their job to obtain the insurance information of the patients. The necessary skills to become an intake coordinator include good writing and reading skills, good communication, and attention to detail.

Patient care specialist vs intake specialist salary

Patient care specialists and intake specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Care Specialist	Intake Specialist
Average salary	$34,157	$36,805
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $55,000	Between $26,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	KPG	Citi
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between patient care specialist and intake specialist education

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

	Patient Care Specialist	Intake Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY at Binghamton

Patient care specialist vs intake specialist demographics

Here are the differences between patient care specialists' and intake specialists' demographics:

	Patient Care Specialist	Intake Specialist
Average age	40	43
Gender ratio	Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7%	Male, 20.7% Female, 79.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	11%

Differences between patient care specialist and intake specialist duties and responsibilities

Patient care specialist example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Utilize software applications to document call interactions using medical terminology and responsible for initially engaging patients by explaining the services.
Verify CPT codes along with diagnosis code for guarantee payment for surgeries.
Process daily fee tickets and correctly enter office visit ICD 9 and CPT codes into the system for billing.
Adhere to HIPPA confidentiality guidelines.
Track Medicaid eligibility of clients.

Intake specialist example responsibilities.

Manage assignments of paying medical bills limit in depth that include organizing and researching regulations as pertain to veterans eligibility.
Provide information to potential patients and referral sources regarding inpatient and outpatient programs offer and intake process.
Verify Medicare eligibility, provide patients with Medicare guideline information as related to home health care and their coverage.
Review U.S. DHS immigration compliance of participants.
Peg claimants claim and establish medial conditions to VA worksheets.
Respond to telephone and e-mail inquiries regarding CM/ECF and court relate procedures.

Patient care specialist vs intake specialist skills

Common patient care specialist skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Care, 17%
Data Entry, 5%
Medical Terminology, 4%
CPT, 2%
CPR, 2%

Common intake specialist skills

Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 14%
Social Work, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Phone Calls, 4%
Home Health, 3%

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Patient Care Specialist
Patient Care Specialist vs Intake Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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