Patient representative vs receptionist

The differences between patient representatives and 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 representative, becoming a receptionist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient representative has an average salary of $32,469, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

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

Patient representative vs receptionist overview

	Patient Representative	Receptionist
Yearly salary	$32,469	$30,571
Hourly rate	$15.61	$14.70
Growth rate	-4%	-
Number of jobs	137,803	65,671
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	40	42
Years of experience	4	2

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 receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

Patient representative vs receptionist salary

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

	Patient Representative	Receptionist
Average salary	$32,469	$30,571
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Gensler
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Finance

Differences between patient representative and receptionist education

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

	Patient Representative	Receptionist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient representative vs receptionist demographics

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

	Patient Representative	Receptionist
Average age	40	42
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between patient representative and receptionist 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.

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Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

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Patient representative vs receptionist skills

Common patient representative skills

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

Common receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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