Patient service representative vs receptionist

The differences between patient service 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 service representative, becoming a receptionist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a patient service representative has an average salary of $32,476, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a patient service representative include patients, customer service and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a receptionist are patients, phone calls, and customer service.

Patient service representative vs receptionist overview

	Patient Service Representative	Receptionist
Yearly salary	$32,476	$30,571
Hourly rate	$15.61	$14.70
Growth rate	-4%	-
Number of jobs	165,920	65,671
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	40	42
Years of experience	4	2

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 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 service representative vs receptionist salary

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

	Patient Service Representative	Receptionist
Average salary	$32,476	$30,571
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $38,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Vermont	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Gensler
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between patient service representative and receptionist education

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

	Patient Service Representative	Receptionist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient service representative vs receptionist demographics

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

	Patient Service Representative	Receptionist
Average age	40	42
Gender ratio	Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1%	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%
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, 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 service representative and receptionist 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.

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.

Patient service representative vs receptionist skills

Common patient service representative skills

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

Common receptionist skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Service Representative
Patient Service Representative vs Receptionist

Updated January 8, 2025

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