Patient representative vs patient access representative

The differences between patient representatives and patient access representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patient representative and a patient access representative. Additionally, a patient access representative has an average salary of $33,603, which is higher than the $32,469 average annual salary of a patient representative.

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

Patient representative vs patient access representative overview

	Patient Representative	Patient Access Representative
Yearly salary	$32,469	$33,603
Hourly rate	$15.61	$16.16
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	137,803	151,077
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient representative do?

A patient representative is responsible for assisting the patients with their health care needs by identifying their medical concerns, assessing their medical history, and referring them to the appropriate physicians or other medical professionals for immediate treatments and further examinations. Patient representatives verify the patients' insurance information, guiding them on filling out medical forms, processing payments for medical services, and updating them for the release of medical results. A patient representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when responding to patient's inquiries and concerns timely and accurately, and performing additional administrative and clerical tasks as needed.

What does a patient access representative do?

A Patient Access Representative is the first point of contact of a patient in a hospital facility. Among the duties include the checking-in and out of a patient, gathering a patient's information for the Doctors and Nurses to use, communicates with the patient's family or caregivers, and processes insurance billing. Most of the time, A Patient Access Representative encounters the critically ill or injured which is why one must possess great communication skills and compassion.

Patient representative vs patient access representative salary

Patient representatives and patient access representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Representative	Patient Access Representative
Average salary	$32,469	$33,603
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between patient representative and patient access representative education

There are a few differences between a patient representative and a patient access representative in terms of educational background:

	Patient Representative	Patient Access Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient representative vs patient access representative demographics

Here are the differences between patient representatives' and patient access representatives' demographics:

	Patient Representative	Patient Access Representative
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 5.8% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient representative and patient access representative duties and responsibilities

Patient representative example responsibilities.

Code preoperative patients' surgical procedures according to surgeon's operative order by using CPT code book.
Develop physical and psychological rehabilitation programs for head trauma patients.
Assist uninsured and under-insure hospital patients in applying for government benefits including Medicaid and charity care programs.
Give patients preparations, take insurance information, and enter all necessary and relevant information into computer system.
Schedule appointments -Answered phones -provide care and compassion for patients -handle payments and maintain a proper transaction report daily
Greet patients upon arrival and pre-register visit ensuring patient does not have duplicate medical records.

Patient access representative example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPPA and clinic.
Conduct intensive screening of all Medicare, Medicaid and manage care patients for provider service eligibility.
Educate eligible applicants about Medicaid manage care and how to access benefits in a manage care environment.
Run internal reports to ensure ICD 9 and CPT procedure codes are accurate for billing for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Deliver quality customer service and compassion while obtaining demographic and financial data from patients seeking emergency medical services.
Operate front desk check-in, preparation of charts, receive payments and balance books at the end of the day.

Patient representative vs patient access representative skills

Common patient representative skills

Patients, 28%
Check-In, 8%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Patient Demographics, 3%

Common patient access representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 9%
Patient Care, 5%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Representative
Patient Representative vs Patient Access Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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