Patient care specialist vs patient care assistant

The differences between patient care specialists and patient care assistants 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 a patient care assistant takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a patient care specialist has an average salary of $34,157, which is higher than the $32,799 average annual salary of a patient care assistant.

The top three skills for a patient care specialist include patients, patient care and data entry. The most important skills for a patient care assistant are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

Patient care specialist vs patient care assistant overview

	Patient Care Specialist	Patient Care Assistant
Yearly salary	$34,157	$32,799
Hourly rate	$16.42	$15.77
Growth rate	-4%	9%
Number of jobs	146,861	261,345
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 26%
Average age	40	42
Years of experience	4	3

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 a patient care assistant do?

A patient care assistant is responsible for attending patients' needs with the supervision of a health care professional. Duties of a patient care assistant also include performing basic medical tasks such as taking patients' temperature, monitoring food intake, preparing medicines, recording health conditions, assisting on lab tests and other medical procedures, and providing information and important updates to the patient's family. A patient care assistant must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties efficiently and accurately.

Patient care specialist vs patient care assistant salary

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

	Patient Care Specialist	Patient Care Assistant
Average salary	$34,157	$32,799
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $55,000	Between $23,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Diego, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	KPG	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient care specialist and patient care assistant education

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

	Patient Care Specialist	Patient Care Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	High School Diploma, 26%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient care specialist vs patient care assistant demographics

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

	Patient Care Specialist	Patient Care Assistant
Average age	40	42
Gender ratio	Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7%	Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient care specialist and patient care assistant 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.

Patient care assistant example responsibilities.

Conduct and facilitate PCA lead group activities as scheduled
Assist patients in achieving independence and increase functional ability.
Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Answer call lights, vital signs, EKG'S, transporting patients to other areas, keep rooms clean and orderly.
Provide high quality patient care as an in-demand per-diem RCA within, home-healthcare, nursing home settings and memory support care.
Work extensively with Alzheimer and dementia patients.

Patient care specialist vs patient care assistant skills

Common patient care specialist skills

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

Common patient care assistant skills

Patients, 23%
Vital Signs, 9%
PCA, 8%
CPR, 7%
Home Health, 6%
Customer Service, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Care Specialist
Patient Care Specialist vs Patient Care Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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