Patient representative vs service representative

The differences between patient representatives and service representatives 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 service representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service representative has an average salary of $33,692, 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 service representative are customer service, client service, and patients.

Patient representative vs service representative overview

	Patient Representative	Service Representative
Yearly salary	$32,469	$33,692
Hourly rate	$15.61	$16.20
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	137,803	210,671
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	12

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 service representative do?

Service representatives handle customer inquiries, requests, complaints, and other general feedback. They are usually the first point of contact with the company's customers. Service representatives are expected to be familiar with all of the company's products so that they can answer all inquiries made by the customers. They should also be familiar with company policies and guidelines on sales and customer handling so that they can address concerns and feedback. They are usually the ones who try to resolve customer complaints by sending issues to applicable departments and ensuring that customers are satisfied with the company's products and services.

Patient representative vs service representative salary

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

	Patient Representative	Service Representative
Average salary	$32,469	$33,692
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New York
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Northern Trust
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Government

Differences between patient representative and service representative education

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

	Patient Representative	Service Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient representative vs service representative demographics

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

	Patient Representative	Service Representative
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient representative and service 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.

Service representative example responsibilities.

Utilize QuickBooks to manage patient's payment for hearing aids and various equipment.
Join online marketplace specializing in local deals to manage customer engagements while providing industry-best service.
Manage customer relations with internal personnel, group administrators, brokers and members as related to Medicare insurance.
Involve great interpersonal skills and upselling.
Provide excellent customer service via ZenDesk e-mail platform.
Counsele individuals who are applying for or receiving TANF.

Patient representative vs service representative skills

Common patient representative skills

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

Common service representative skills

Customer Service, 9%
Client Service, 8%
Patients, 7%
PET, 5%
Front Desk, 5%
Veterans, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Representative
Patient Representative vs Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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