What Does a Patient Service Representative Do?

Q: Do patient service reps wear scrubs?

Yes, patient service reps wear scrubs. Some employers require a uniform or scrubs, but the typical outfit worn by patient service representatives is a collared shirt with slacks or khaki pants and clean sneakers or dress shoes.

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.

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Patient Service Representative Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient service representative resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

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.
Communicate effectively with insurance providers, patients and medical personnel, while answering phones and maintaining conformity with all HIPAA regulations.
Register patients for all radiology, laboratory, nuclear medicine, physical/occupational/speech therapy, direct admits, urgent care and surgery.
Respond to grievances in writing within the CMS mandate time frame.
Train new emergency room PSA staff for all phases of ER patient processing.
Check patients in and out via NextGen, schedule appointments and surgeries for doctors.
Obtain information about the patient's medical history, drug history, complaints and allergies.
Update and inform the PSA's of any changes in procedures, staffing and appointment scheduling.
Organize and distribute wheelchairs and stretchers evenly to each area of the emergency department for future patients.
Transport patients throughout the hospital also assist them onto stretchers, beds, wheel chairs, etc.

Patient Service Representative Job Description

When it comes to understanding what a patient service representative does, you may be wondering, "should I become a patient service representative?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, patient service representatives have a growth rate described as "decline" at -2% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of patient service representative opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is -51,600.

A patient service representative annual salary averages $32,476, which breaks down to $15.61 an hour. However, patient service representatives can earn anywhere from upwards of $27,000 to $38,000 a year. This means that the top-earning patient service representatives make $14,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

Once you've become a patient service representative, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include an authorization specialist, patient liaison, patient registrar, and patient care specialist.

Learn More About Patient Service Representative Job Descriptions

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12 Patient Service Representative Resume Examples

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Samuel Ramos Patient Service Representative Contact Information Rochester, MN (510) 555-2702 sramos@example.com Skills Email Relevant Documents PSR Patient Access Insurance Companies Patient Registration Medical Records Icd-9 Patient Care Customer Correspondence Employment History Patient Service Representative 2016 - Present Olmsted Medical Center Rochester, MN Billed insurance companies on behave of the hospital. Provide excellent customer service, answer phone calls, and handle patient medical records. Obtained auths from Insurance Companies for Radiology procedures at Banner facilities. Medical Scheduler 2015 - 2016 Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN Served as direct contact and resource to patients providing excellent patient care. Answered 90-150 calls daily Updated system entry with patients insurance and demographics Responded to correspondence from insurance companies. Charge Entry on prior day encounter forms, charge entry on EOB's, Account Recievables, verifying insurance information. Responded to staff and client inquiries regarding CPT and diagnosis codes. Provider Services Representative 2014 - 2015 Thirty-One Gifts Columbus, OH Document all interactions with Consultants and Customers to improve internal communication, reporting, and issue awareness. Document all interactions with customers and prospects to improve internal communication and program execution. Meet productivity goals to follow up on 100 unpaid accounts per day with insurance companies. Reconciled commercial and government accounts, ensuring CPT and diagnostic codes are accurate. Education Bachelor's Degree Psychology 2006 - 2009 Ohio State University Columbus, OH


Cynthia Murphy Patient Service Representative Contact Info Salt Lake City, UT (710) 555-1878 cmurphy@example.com Skills Appropriate ProductsPhysician OfficesNecessary InformationEMRMedical RecordsInsurance CompaniesPatient CareEKGOffice SuppliesPatient Check In Employment History Patient Service Representative 2019 - Present Intermountain Healthcare Salt Lake City, UT Use strong and direct communication. Take calls from Patients and Insurance Companies on billing issues . Input patient demographics and specimen in to computer for tracking and processing. Obtain necessary medical authorizations from insurance companies. Patient Access Representative 2014 - 2019 Conifer Health Solutions Springfield, IL Update demographics and insurance, explain benefits and collect payments while following HIPAA. Served as patient access rep for 396 bed hospital, Peace is one of the largest psychiatric hospital in the nation. Collect and accurately document all appropriate client data in EPIC, electronic medical records. Developed effective relationships with all call center departments through clear communication. Called insurance companies and providers to get extensions on insurance coverage for medical equipment Maintained weekly and monthly reports Office Representative 2009 - 2014 Ukpeagvik IOoOupiat Oakbrook Terrace, IL Scanned demographic and insurance information for pre-registration/registration on all emergency room patients. Organized medical records.Printed Demographics Confirmed medical and office supply purchases Handled payment via cash, credit\debit. Administered and communicated client information while maintaining confidentiality and security of all patient medical records. Education Bachelor's Degree Health Care Administration 2006 - 2009 DeVry University Oakbrook Terrace, IL


Diana Moore Patient Service Representative Houston, TX (660) 555-1574 dmoore@example.com Experience Patient Service Representative2018 - Present MD Anderson Cancer Center•Houston, TX Assist nurses with patient care; patient's sugar count, heart rate and prepping for procedure. Experienced both inpatient and outpatient care. Verified clinical and demographic information for accuracy. Obtain necessary patient information and contact insurance companies to verify coverage and benefits. Maintain updated patient chart/medical records electronically and manually. Medical Records Receptionist2015 - 2018 Texas Children's Hospital•Houston, TX Confirm Eligibility with Private and Government Insurance Companies for bills and clans Performed direct patient care based on age specific considerations in order to accomplish patient care goals. Insurance Coordinator2004 - 2009 Express Services•Houston, TX Switch between multiple telephone lines to answer or transfer calls, providing information,taking messages, or scheduling appointments. Processed weekly payroll for 50- 200 associates weekly through internal and electronic payroll system. Completed background checks online and forwarded them to the Staffing Consultants. Located medical records to provide to Doctor's offices. Skills Patient AccountsInsurance CompaniesPatient AccessPatient CareBilling ProcessPatient DemographicsFinancial ArrangementsMedical RecordsTreatment PlansPatient Registration Education Master's Degree Business2009 - 2010 University of Houston•Houston, TX Bachelor's Degree Accounting1996 - 1999 University of Houston•Houston, TX

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Patient Service Representative Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 20% of Patient Service Representatives are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Patient Service Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Patients, 20%
Helped incoming patients with the registration process and assisted with administrative support to office manager.
Customer Service, 12%
Ensured positive customer service by quickly and accurately registering and discharging 60-80 patients/day at community-based walk-in urgent care clinic.
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Position required heavy public interaction and excellent interpersonal and problem solving skills.
Check-In, 7%
Handled patient check-in and check-out at outpatient clinic, verification of insurance and patient responsibility.
Patient Service, 6%
Job My responsibilities as a Patient Service Representative at the Diagnostic Clinic are as follows: Schedule/reschedule/cancel appointments.
Excellent Organizational, 6%
Keep records orderly and prioritizing tasks with excellent organizational skills.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Patient Service Representative Resume templates

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"patients," "customer service," and "excellent interpersonal" aren't the only skills we found patient service representatives list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of patient service representative responsibilities that we found, including:

Communication skills can be considered to be the most important personality trait for a patient service representative to have. According to a patient service representative resume, "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Patient service representatives are able to use communication skills in the following example we gathered from a resume: "process high volume data entry including scanning, copying/faxing, filing, electronic communications and verifying information in electronic health records. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform patient service representative duties is the following: computer skills. According to a patient service representative resume, "customer service representatives must be adept at using computers. ." Check out this example of how patient service representatives use computer skills: "promote patient safety by safeguarding and keeping the integrity of patient medical records utilizing a computerized patient registration system. "

Patient service representatives are also known for customer-service skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a patient service representative resume: "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "support front lobby with patient registration, appointments, and walk-in inquires to provide outstanding customer service. "

A patient service representative responsibilities sometimes require "interpersonal skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." This resume example shows how this skill is used by patient service representatives: "possess excellent organizational, leadership, interpersonal and communication skills. "

Yet another important skill that a patient service representative must demonstrate is "listening skills." Representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them. This is clearly demonstrated in this example from a patient service representative who stated: "communicated with physicians and medical support staff to determine the need for patient services. "

While "patience" is listed last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to patient service representative responsibilities. The skill is described by this resume snippet, "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." Here is an example of how this skill is used, "conducted daily outbound calls to patience that were preparing for medical procedures to complete registration process. "

See the full list of patient service representative skills.

Before becoming a patient service representative, 31.7% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 2.9% patient service representatives went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, some patient service representatives have a college degree. But about one out of every three patient service representatives didn't attend college at all.

Those patient service representatives who do attend college, typically earn either a business degree or a health care administration degree. Less commonly earned degrees for patient service representatives include a medical assisting services degree or a nursing degree.

When you're ready to become a patient service representative, you might wonder which companies hire patient service representatives. According to our research through patient service representative resumes, patient service representatives are mostly hired by Aspen Dental, Tenet Healthcare, and RadNet. Now is a good time to apply as Aspen Dental has 352 patient service representatives job openings, and there are 164 at Tenet Healthcare and 121 at RadNet.

But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, patient service representatives tend to earn the biggest salaries at University of California, Berkeley, SightMD, and Horizon Laser Vision. Take University of California, Berkeley for example. The median patient service representative salary is $41,812. At SightMD, patient service representatives earn an average of $41,117, while the average at Horizon Laser Vision is $40,958. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

View more details on patient service representative salaries across the United States.

Some other companies you might be interested in as a patient service representative include Massachusetts General Hospital, NovaCare Rehabilitation, and Swedish. These three companies were found to hire the most patient service representatives from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious patient service representatives are:

Aspen Dental352 Patient Service Representatives Jobs
Tenet Healthcare164 Patient Service Representatives Jobs
RadNet121 Patient Service Representatives Jobs

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What Authorization Specialists Do

An authorization specialist is responsible for reviewing insurance claims and determining the necessary settlement for the clients and involved parties. Authorization specialists file documents and gather the required information for further investigation and analysis. They coordinate with the insurance agency and the medical institution and ensure that the correct communications are being sent out for reference. An authorization specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing authorization requests and resolve claims timely and efficiently.

We looked at the average patient service representative annual salary and compared it with the average of an authorization specialist. Generally speaking, authorization specialists receive $4,042 higher pay than patient service representatives per year.

Even though patient service representatives and authorization specialists have vast differences in their careers, a few of the skills required to do both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, customer service, and patient service in the day-to-day roles.

There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a patient service representative responsibilities require skills like "excellent interpersonal," "check-in," "psr," and "patient billing." Meanwhile a typical authorization specialist has skills in areas such as "emr," "medical necessity," "clinical data," and "medical services." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

Authorization specialists receive the highest salaries in the health care industry coming in with an average yearly salary of $35,974. But patient service representatives are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,107.

Authorization specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than patient service representatives. In fact, authorization specialists are 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Patient Liaison?

Patient Liaisons are intermediaries addressing concerns on behalf of patients and families working in tandem with the hospital administrator. They are responsible for gathering data regarding patient care issues and inquiries, assessing patient well-being, suggesting improvements, and interpreting hospital service, policies, and procedures to patients and families. Patient Liaisons also work to educate health care professionals in humanizing the hospital experience for patients. They work in a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or programs related to public health.

The next role we're going to look at is the patient liaison profession. Typically, this position earns a lower pay. In fact, they earn a $162 lower salary than patient service representatives per year.

While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both patient service representatives and patient liaisons are known to have skills such as "patients," "customer service," and "excellent interpersonal. "

But both careers also use different skills, according to real patient service representative resumes. While patient service representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "check-in," "excellent organizational," "psr," and "patient care," some patient liaisons use skills like "health system," "surgery," "social work," and "employee engagement."

It's been discovered that patient liaisons earn lower salaries compared to patient service representatives, but we wanted to find out where patient liaisons earned the most pay. The answer? The health care industry. The average salary in the industry is $32,280. Additionally, patient service representatives earn the highest paychecks in the health care with an average salary of $33,107.

In general, patient liaisons study at similar levels of education than patient service representatives. They're 4.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How a Patient Registrar Compares

A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.

The third profession we take a look at is patient registrar. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than patient service representatives. In fact, they make a $1,018 higher salary per year.

Using patient service representatives and patient registrars resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology," but the other skills required are very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from patient service representative resumes include skills like "excellent interpersonal," "check-in," "patient service," and "excellent organizational," whereas a patient registrar might be skilled in "pbx," "health insurance," "surgery," and "rehabilitation. "

Additionally, patient registrars earn a higher salary in the health care industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $33,106. Additionally, patient service representatives earn an average salary of $33,107 in the health care industry.

When it comes to education, patient registrars tend to earn similar education levels than patient service representatives. In fact, they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Patient Care Specialist

A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.

Now, we'll look at patient care specialists, who generally average a higher pay when compared to patient service representatives annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $1,681 per year.

According to resumes from both patient service representatives and patient care specialists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology. "

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "excellent interpersonal," "check-in," "patient service," and "excellent organizational" are skills that have shown up on patient service representatives resumes. Additionally, patient care specialist uses skills like cpr, emr, departmental policies, and vital signs on their resumes.

In general, patient care specialists make a higher salary in the health care industry with an average of $32,483. The highest patient service representative annual salary stems from the health care industry.

In general, patient care specialists reach similar levels of education when compared to patient service representatives resumes. Patient care specialists are 2.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

What a Patient Service Representative Does FAQs

Do Patient Service Reps Wear Scrubs?

Yes, patient service reps wear scrubs. Some employers require a uniform or scrubs, but the typical outfit worn by patient service representatives is a collared shirt with slacks or khaki pants and clean sneakers or dress shoes.

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

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Updated October 2, 2020