Patient representative vs patient care representative

The differences between patient representatives and patient care 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 care representative. Additionally, a patient care representative has an average salary of $33,709, 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 care representative are patients, patient care, and home health.

Patient representative vs patient care representative overview

	Patient Representative	Patient Care Representative
Yearly salary	$32,469	$33,709
Hourly rate	$15.61	$16.21
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	137,803	133,317
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
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 care representative do?

PCRs (Patient Care Representatives) are given responsibilities like updating and verifying patient information after every visit, scheduling and reminding patients about appointments, and informing patients about delays and how long the estimated waiting times will be. They are also responsible for obtaining patients' personal information like their address, contact details, insurance information, and medical and surgical history. They must be able to communicate with patients, family members, and medical staff to give them all the information they need to treat the person looking for medical help.

Patient representative vs patient care representative salary

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

	Patient Representative	Patient Care Representative
Average salary	$32,469	$33,709
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Technology

Differences between patient representative and patient care representative education

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

	Patient Representative	Patient Care Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient representative vs patient care representative demographics

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

	Patient Representative	Patient Care Representative
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%
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, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient representative and patient care 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 care representative example responsibilities.

Manage cash and co-payments accurately and discharge patients providing them with proper medical notes and information before exiting.
Verify insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, register patients, and code proper ICD-9 and CPT codes on encounters.
Utilize medical terminology, CPT, HCPC and ICD-9 and patient information into new authorizations.
Interview patients to gather information pertinent to their Medicaid application.
Screen, identify, and enter ICD-9 coding from treatment record forms.
Maintain patient confidentiality and follow HIPAA rules.

Patient representative vs patient care 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 care representative skills

Patients, 25%
Patient Care, 13%
Home Health, 7%
Cash Management, 5%
Phone Calls, 4%
CPT, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Representative
Patient Representative vs Patient Care Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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