Patient coordinator vs medical assistant

The differences between patient coordinators and medical 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 coordinator, becoming a medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical assistant has an average salary of $34,900, which is higher than the $32,954 average annual salary of a patient coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient coordinator include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.

Patient coordinator vs medical assistant overview

	Patient Coordinator	Medical Assistant
Yearly salary	$32,954	$34,900
Hourly rate	$15.84	$16.78
Growth rate	-4%	16%
Number of jobs	97,878	189,915
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 24%
Average age	40	37
Years of experience	4	12

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 medical assistant do?

Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.

Patient coordinator vs medical assistant salary

Patient coordinators and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Coordinator	Medical Assistant
Average salary	$32,954	$34,900
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Brockton, MA	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient coordinator and medical assistant education

There are a few differences between a patient coordinator and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:

	Patient Coordinator	Medical Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 24%
Most common major	Business	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient coordinator vs medical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between patient coordinators' and medical assistants' demographics:

	Patient Coordinator	Medical Assistant
Average age	40	37
Gender ratio	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%	Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6%
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, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between patient coordinator and medical assistant 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.

Medical assistant example responsibilities.

Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Participate in emergency surgical intervention in obstetrics and gynecology patients.
Demonstrate proficiency in taking patient history and vitals, venipuncture, injections, urinalysis and preparing examination trays.
Attend to new out patients in gynecology clinic, make clinical diagnosis and follow up.
Provide RMA support to physician, and patients, including but not limit to vitals and patient history.

Patient coordinator vs medical assistant skills

Common patient coordinator skills

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

Common medical assistant skills

Patients, 20%
Vital Signs, 10%
Patient Care, 9%
Phlebotomy, 4%
CPR, 4%
EKG, 4%

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Patient Coordinator
Patient Coordinator vs Medical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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