Patient service specialist vs patient coordinator

The differences between patient service specialists and patient coordinators 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 a patient coordinator. Additionally, a patient service specialist has an average salary of $33,563, which is higher than the $32,954 average annual salary of a patient coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient service specialist include patients, patient service and physical therapy. The most important skills for a patient coordinator are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Patient service specialist vs patient coordinator overview

	Patient Service Specialist	Patient Coordinator
Yearly salary	$33,563	$32,954
Hourly rate	$16.14	$15.84
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	105,915	97,878
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
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 a patient coordinator do?

A patient coordinator functions as the primary point of contact between health care professionals and patients in a medical facility. They mostly perform administrative tasks such as greeting visitors, answering calls, responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments, processing payments, gathering information, and keeping records. Moreover, they assist in filling out forms, escorting patients to different rooms or offices, and setting treatment plans. Most importantly, they discuss and share necessary information with patients and families regarding medications, procedures, and proceeding care according to a physician's assessment.

Patient service specialist vs patient coordinator salary

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

	Patient Service Specialist	Patient Coordinator
Average salary	$33,563	$32,954
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $40,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, MA	Brockton, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Virginia Eye Institute	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient service specialist and patient coordinator education

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

	Patient Service Specialist	Patient Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Patient service specialist vs patient coordinator demographics

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

	Patient Service Specialist	Patient Coordinator
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.5% Female, 87.5%	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%
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, 11.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 25.4% Asian, 6.2% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient service specialist and patient coordinator 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.

Patient coordinator example responsibilities.

Comply with HIPAA regulations by discreetly and professionally handling all patients private medical information.
Gather personal plus insurance information and perform thorough insurance breakdowns for patients.
Communicate directly with patients to obtain initial patient information and respond to inquiries.
Process and update HIPAA relate paperwork and other require institutional forms as necessary.
Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
Respond in writing to all grievances in accordance with CMS and DNV guidelines.

Patient service specialist vs patient coordinator skills

Common patient service specialist skills

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

Common patient coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 11%
Patient Care, 6%
Patient Flow, 5%
Excellent Organizational, 4%
Check-In, 3%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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