Patient registrar vs medical receptionist

The differences between patient registrars and medical receptionists 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 registrar, becoming a medical receptionist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient registrar has an average salary of $33,494, which is higher than the $31,960 average annual salary of a medical receptionist.

The top three skills for a patient registrar include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a medical receptionist are patients, customer service, and check-in.

Patient registrar vs medical receptionist overview

	Patient Registrar	Medical Receptionist
Yearly salary	$33,494	$31,960
Hourly rate	$16.10	$15.37
Growth rate	-4%	-8%
Number of jobs	86,721	118,048
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Associate Degree, 28%
Average age	40	49
Years of experience	4	2

What does a patient registrar do?

A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.

What does a medical receptionist do?

Medical receptionists are responsible for manning the front desk at a medical facility such as a clinic or a hospital. They manage schedules and appointments in the clinic or hospital. They help patients to their respective appointments. They also assist doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners by ensuring that the schedule for the day is being followed. They are also in charge of assisting visitors by directing them wherever they would need to go. Medical receptionists also answer inquiries by patients or visitors. Medical knowledge, great customer service skills, and a friendly attitude are needed.

Patient registrar vs medical receptionist salary

Patient registrars and medical receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Registrar	Medical Receptionist
Average salary	$33,494	$31,960
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Maine
Best paying company	Guidehouse	CENTER FOR SIGHT
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient registrar and medical receptionist education

There are a few differences between a patient registrar and a medical receptionist in terms of educational background:

	Patient Registrar	Medical Receptionist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Associate Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient registrar vs medical receptionist demographics

Here are the differences between patient registrars' and medical receptionists' demographics:

	Patient Registrar	Medical Receptionist
Average age	40	49
Gender ratio	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%	Male, 5.2% Female, 94.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between patient registrar and medical receptionist duties and responsibilities

Patient registrar example responsibilities.

Process release of information requests according to HIPAA regulations and manage valuables safe for entire facility.
Specialize in high degree of compassion when communicating with patients providing information and insurance details.
Receive patients, record patient demographic information and verify insurance for emergency department, laboratory, and radiology
Register patients and ensure correctness of all demographic information in AS400, verify insurance on various websites and collect patient co-payments.
Update demographics, billing information, Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance during patient interviews to obtain pertinent registration information.
Enter confidential personal health information and financial information into IDX system with a high rate of accuracy and confidentiality.

Medical receptionist example responsibilities.

Conduct analysis to address long wait times which lead to faster triage, shorter wait times.
Evaluate all EOB's to insure accurate payment is received and when necessary will file appeals to achieve optimal payments.
Greet and check-in patients, including obtaining accurate patient demographic information, patient registration, and checking insurance eligibility.
Learned and operate chiropractic equipment (decompression; Leander) & x-rays; enabling Dr to have more time for patients.
Resolve concerns of terminally ill patients with compassion and professionalism.
Identify patients' specific scheduling requirements while demonstrating care and compassion via telephone.

Patient registrar vs medical receptionist skills

Common patient registrar skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 11%
Medical Terminology, 11%
Patient Registration, 4%
Patient Care, 4%
Insurance Verification, 3%

Common medical receptionist skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 9%
Check-In, 6%
Medical Terminology, 6%
Patient Care, 4%
Front Desk, 4%

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Patient Registrar
Patient Registrar vs Medical Receptionist

Updated January 8, 2025

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