Patient registrar vs scheduling specialist

The differences between patient registrars and scheduling 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 registrar, becoming a scheduling specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a scheduling specialist has an average salary of $37,269, which is higher than the $33,494 average annual salary of a patient registrar.

The top three skills for a patient registrar include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a scheduling specialist are patients, medical terminology, and home health.

Patient registrar vs scheduling specialist overview

	Patient Registrar	Scheduling Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,494	$37,269
Hourly rate	$16.10	$17.92
Growth rate	-4%	-8%
Number of jobs	86,721	73,381
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
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 scheduling specialist do?

A scheduling specialist is responsible for managing the department's meeting, conference, and event schedules, as well as negotiating with suppliers and third-party vendors for appointment and program needs. Scheduling specialists may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, especially on communicating with clients and informing them of meetings, and responding to their concerns and inquiries. A scheduling specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of the data processing procedures to maintain the organization's database, updating clients' information, and tracking business transactions.

Patient registrar vs scheduling specialist salary

Patient registrars and scheduling specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Registrar	Scheduling Specialist
Average salary	$33,494	$37,269
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New York
Best paying company	Guidehouse	Bristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industry	Health Care	Transportation

Differences between patient registrar and scheduling specialist education

There are a few differences between a patient registrar and a scheduling specialist in terms of educational background:

	Patient Registrar	Scheduling Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient registrar vs scheduling specialist demographics

Here are the differences between patient registrars' and scheduling specialists' demographics:

	Patient Registrar	Scheduling Specialist
Average age	40	49
Gender ratio	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%	Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1%
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 scheduling specialist 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.

Scheduling specialist example responsibilities.

Manage clinic visit schedules, rehabilitation conferences, medical exams, trial appearances, depositions, etc.
Treat all patients with compassion and dignity no matter what their socioeconomic status is.
Job entail becoming familiar with medical insurance carriers, which include Medicaid and Medicare programs.
Schedule patients for radiology procedures, including complicate scheduling for multiple exams in one patient visit.
Register patients into EMR system, ensuring accuracy when updating patient information, demographics and insurance.
Schedule outpatient appointment for radiology patients, verify insurance, obtain authorization from insurance companies for special procedures.

Patient registrar vs scheduling specialist skills

Common patient registrar skills

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

Common scheduling specialist skills

Patients, 25%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Registrar
Patient Registrar vs Scheduling Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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