Patient service specialist vs authorization specialist

The differences between patient service specialists and authorization specialists 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 specialist and an authorization specialist. Additionally, an authorization specialist has an average salary of $36,518, which is higher than the $33,563 average annual salary of a patient service specialist.

The top three skills for a patient service specialist include patients, patient service and physical therapy. The most important skills for an authorization specialist are patients, customer service, and insurance verification.

Patient service specialist vs authorization specialist overview

	Patient Service Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,563	$36,518
Hourly rate	$16.14	$17.56
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	105,915	71,831
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient service specialist do?

A patient service representative serves as a patient's primary point of contact in a hospital or clinic, ensuring accuracy and customer satisfaction. They are mainly responsible for gathering a patient's information and medical history, verifying insurance forms, managing accounts, and processing payments, arranging appointments, and even performing reminder calls and correspondence. There are also instances when a patient service representative must discuss situations to patients and their families, and even alert the doctors when a patient displays strange or unlikely behavior.

What does an authorization specialist 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.

Patient service specialist vs authorization specialist salary

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

	Patient Service Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Average salary	$33,563	$36,518
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $40,000	Between $28,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Milford, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Virginia Eye Institute	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient service specialist and authorization specialist education

There are a few differences between a patient service specialist and an authorization specialist in terms of educational background:

	Patient Service Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient service specialist vs authorization specialist demographics

Here are the differences between patient service specialists' and authorization specialists' demographics:

	Patient Service Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.5% Female, 87.5%	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient service specialist and authorization specialist duties and responsibilities

Patient service specialist example responsibilities.

Benefit coverage eligibility or concerns for patients will be complete timely to achieve identify outcomes or solutions.
Greet patients and visitors with warmth, compassion, and demonstrate commitment to exceptional service.
Provide customer service to patients via registration, co-pay and co-insurance payment collection, appointment scheduling and telephone service
Obtain patient demographic, billing, insurance, and other necessary intake information for patients seeking rehabilitation services.
Screen, triage, register and verify a high volume of client eligibility and demographic data.
Direct callers to appropriate personnel, and initiate a triage slip for response by medical personnel.

Authorization specialist example responsibilities.

Demonstrate knowledge of HIPAA by appropriately managing patient confidentiality.
Utilize CMS and InterQual criteria to establish authorizations for members requiring medical services for a Medicare advantage insurance company.
Build authorization, match ICD-10 codes with there procedure codes
Provide patients with patient registration forms in order to follow up on patient check-in and check-out utilizing a proprietary management system.
Obtain verification of insurance coverage and authorizations for clinical visits and surgical procedures for patients.
Perform all components of the office registration including arrival, check-in and future appointments.

Patient service specialist vs authorization specialist skills

Common patient service specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Patient Service, 9%
Physical Therapy, 8%
Rehabilitation, 8%
Patient Appointments, 8%
Front Desk, 7%

Common authorization specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 10%
Insurance Verification, 6%
Medical Terminology, 6%
Insurance Eligibility, 4%
Veterans, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Service Specialist
Patient Service Specialist vs Authorization Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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