Patient relations coordinator vs referral coordinator

The differences between patient relations coordinators and referral 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 relations coordinator, becoming a referral coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient relations coordinator has an average salary of $45,689, which is higher than the $35,179 average annual salary of a referral coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient relations coordinator include patients, customer service and patient flow. The most important skills for a referral coordinator are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Patient relations coordinator vs referral coordinator overview

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Yearly salary	$45,689	$35,179
Hourly rate	$21.97	$16.91
Growth rate	-4%	-8%
Number of jobs	103,373	65,934
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	40	49
Years of experience	4	2

What does a patient relations coordinator do?

Patient Relations Coordinators are responsible for liaising for patients and family members with medical staff regarding patient progress and health facility procedures. Their duties include greeting patients and visitors, checking patient charts, inspecting cause of delay, conducting professional medical referrals, and managing family and patients' roundings log. They also provide hospital directions, handle phone calls, and maintain visitor control. Patient relations coordinators work to resolve any patient and family complaints and ensure all work activities adhere to media information policies and hospital confidentiality.

What does a referral coordinator do?

A referral coordinator works with insurance companies and care providers to share essential patient information and assists primarily in scheduling appointments and managing health insurance issues. As a referral coordinator, you will work directly with the patient, patient families, or even social workers, depending on the job and patient needs. Other job responsibilities include general administrative or clerical tasks such as setting up appointments for new and existing patients, verifying insurance information before appointments, and answering phone calls.

Patient relations coordinator vs referral coordinator salary

Patient relations coordinators and referral coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Average salary	$45,689	$35,179
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $56,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	Horizon Laser Vision
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between patient relations coordinator and referral coordinator education

There are a few differences between a patient relations coordinator and a referral coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient relations coordinator vs referral coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between patient relations coordinators' and referral coordinators' demographics:

	Patient Relations Coordinator	Referral Coordinator
Average age	40	49
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 52.6% 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 relations coordinator and referral coordinator duties and responsibilities

Patient relations coordinator example responsibilities.

Provide support for emergencies by managing inappropriate behaviors, aggressive patients, CPR and persons in crisis.
Contribute to overall patient satisfaction by maintaining positive relationships and providing patients and visitors with the best experience possible.
Coordinate patient flow through proper scheduling procedures base on patients dental needs in conjunction with doctor and hygienist availability.
Update patients records in EMR system.
Conduct bi-monthly resident council meetings in the transitional care unit i.e., rehabilitation and hospice units.
Verify insurance benefits, and maintain various information and data bases of patient information using the HIPPA guidelines.

Referral coordinator example responsibilities.

Establish rapport with all PCP offices, hospital personnel, and manage care representatives.
Ensure CPT and ICD-9 coding are accurate and complete according to AMA's guidelines and for third party intermediaries.
Contact medical insurance companies and provide ICD-9 diagnosis and CPT procedure codes for patient's illness, condition or injury.
Apply ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes to complete referral requests online or via fax.
Conduct the entire office's EHR process and create a system to track old and new patient's records.
Incorporate core organizational values of quality, respect, integrity, partnership, and compassion in all activities and decisions.

Patient relations coordinator vs referral coordinator skills

Common patient relations coordinator skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 12%
Patient Flow, 9%
Patient Relations, 6%
Patient Registration, 5%
Patient Charges, 5%

Common referral coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 12%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
EMR, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Relations Coordinator
Patient Relations Coordinator vs Referral Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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