Patient service representative vs patient access representative

The differences between patient service 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 service representative and a patient access representative. Additionally, a patient access representative has an average salary of $33,603, which is higher than the $32,476 average annual salary of a patient service representative.

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

Patient service representative vs patient access representative overview

	Patient Service Representative	Patient Access Representative
Yearly salary	$32,476	$33,603
Hourly rate	$15.61	$16.16
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	165,920	151,077
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient service representative do?

A Patient Service Representative is responsible for coordinating with patients, ensuring accuracy and satisfaction at all times. The duties of a Patient Service Representative revolves around greeting and responding to patients, offering assistance in documentation, gathering and maintaining their personal information, and even communicating with the family or guardian. They also have to collect payments and process insurance details, obtain medical history, and even keep the patients updated in various aspects. Aside from this, it is crucial for a Representative coordinate with supervisors or personnel in-charge at all times.

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 service representative vs patient access representative salary

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

	Patient Service Representative	Patient Access Representative
Average salary	$32,476	$33,603
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $38,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient service representative and patient access representative education

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

	Patient Service Representative	Patient Access Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient service representative vs patient access representative demographics

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

	Patient Service Representative	Patient Access Representative
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.7% 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 service representative and patient access representative duties and responsibilities

Patient service representative example responsibilities.

Manage the daily release of charges to A/R.
Adhere with all state and federal regulations such as EMTALA and HIPPA requirements and appropriately collect co-payments and deductibles from patients.
Provide caring and compassion to elderly and developmentally disable patients.
Demonstrate respect, compassion and confidentiality for patients and family members.
Provide professional and accurate service to schedule patient appointments, check-in and verify insurance eligibility.
Provide quality customer service to patients and observe all protocols regarding HIPPA regulations to ensure patient confidentiality.

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 service representative vs patient access representative skills

Common patient service representative skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 12%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Check-In, 7%
Patient Service, 6%
Excellent Organizational, 6%

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 Service Representative
Patient Service Representative vs Patient Access Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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