How To Become A Patient Service Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a patient service associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Patient Service Associates help patients access medical services and ensure they are highly satisfied. They greet patients, take phone calls, and refer patients to appropriate medical staff. They schedule appointments and prepare documents for admission and discharge. Also, they handle billing activities to ensure accurate billing information is submitted and required standards are met. Additionally, they collect cash and credit card payments from patients.

Patient service associates are responsible for follow-up sessions and overseeing the routine needs of patients. They also maintain a clean, organized, and pleasant waiting room during business hours.

Employers require at least a bachelor's degree in medical administration or a related field. Key skills for this position include interpersonal, listening, customer service, problem-solving, and communication skills. You must be familiar with basic medical jargon and healthcare systems. The base salary for this position ranges from $35,663 to $52,078, with an average gross salary of $42,258.

ScorePatient Service AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,992

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.75%

Asian 7.21%

Black or African American 13.17%

Hispanic or Latino 19.02%

Unknown 5.48%

White 54.37%

Gender

female 81.77%

male 18.23%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a patient service associate

Explore patient service associate education requirements

Most common patient service associate degrees

Bachelor's

37.5 %

Associate

22.5 %

High School Diploma

19.5 %

Start to develop specific patient service associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	22.17%
Customer Service	11.76%
Medical Terminology	6.44%
Patient Care	5.57%
Patient Service	5.50%

Complete relevant patient service associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New patient service associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a patient service associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real patient service associate resumes.

Research patient service associate duties and responsibilities

Verify patient's insurance eligibility and other pertinent information according to HIPAA regulations and hospital policies.
Screen uninsure patients for medicaid and other programs, complete medicaid applications for qualify applicants.
Interview patients and conduct an analysis of potential eligibility for Medicaid and hospital charity programs.
Obtain accurate and detail diagnostic, demographic and financial information for patients requesting emergency hospital services.

Prepare your patient service associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your patient service associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a patient service associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable patient service associate resume templates

Build a professional patient service associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your patient service associate resume.

Apply for patient service associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a patient service associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do patient service associates rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Patient service associate reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Putting that patient/customet first and directing (directions) that person to their Doctors office and setting or cancelling their appointments, just helping people.

Cons

There's nothing to dislike.

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019