Patient coordinator vs front office coordinator

The differences between patient coordinators and front office 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 coordinator, becoming a front office coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient coordinator has an average salary of $32,954, which is higher than the $32,844 average annual salary of a front office coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient coordinator include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a front office coordinator are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Patient coordinator vs front office coordinator overview

	Patient Coordinator	Front Office Coordinator
Yearly salary	$32,954	$32,844
Hourly rate	$15.84	$15.79
Growth rate	-4%	-5%
Number of jobs	97,878	131,810
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	40	47
Years of experience	4	2

What does a patient coordinator do?

A patient coordinator functions as the primary point of contact between health care professionals and patients in a medical facility. They mostly perform administrative tasks such as greeting visitors, answering calls, responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments, processing payments, gathering information, and keeping records. Moreover, they assist in filling out forms, escorting patients to different rooms or offices, and setting treatment plans. Most importantly, they discuss and share necessary information with patients and families regarding medications, procedures, and proceeding care according to a physician's assessment.

What does a front office coordinator do?

A front office coordinator is responsible for assisting clients with their inquiries and concerns and directing them to the appropriate department and personnel to immediately address their needs. Front office coordinators schedule appointments, verify visitors' identities by checking their credentials for security purposes, processing service payments, updating customers' data and visitation log on the database, and escalating high-level complaints. A front office coordinator also performs administrative and clerical tasks as needed, requiring them to have excellent time-management and organizational skills.

Patient coordinator vs front office coordinator salary

Patient coordinators and front office coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Coordinator	Front Office Coordinator
Average salary	$32,954	$32,844
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $41,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Brockton, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient coordinator and front office coordinator education

There are a few differences between a patient coordinator and a front office coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Patient Coordinator	Front Office Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient coordinator vs front office coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between patient coordinators' and front office coordinators' demographics:

	Patient Coordinator	Front Office Coordinator
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%	Male, 9.0% Female, 91.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 25.4% Asian, 6.2% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between patient coordinator and front office coordinator duties and responsibilities

Patient coordinator example responsibilities.

Comply with HIPAA regulations by discreetly and professionally handling all patients private medical information.
Gather personal plus insurance information and perform thorough insurance breakdowns for patients.
Communicate directly with patients to obtain initial patient information and respond to inquiries.
Process and update HIPAA relate paperwork and other require institutional forms as necessary.
Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
Respond in writing to all grievances in accordance with CMS and DNV guidelines.

Front office coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage medical records and other patient information within HIPPA guidelines.
Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
Work in Kronos to enter miss punches or correct time for employees when payroll is due.
Apply proper ICD-9 and CPT coding to patient invoices and submit claims to insurance companies for proper reimbursement.
Monitor physician documentation in EHR versus fee ticket and verify that the correct ICD9 and CPT codes are being used.
Maintain confidentiality of patient privacy in compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Patient coordinator vs front office coordinator skills

Common patient coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 11%
Patient Care, 6%
Patient Flow, 5%
Excellent Organizational, 4%
Check-In, 3%

Common front office coordinator skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 5%
Front Desk, 4%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Patient Charts, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Coordinator
Patient Coordinator vs Front Office Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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