Physician specialist vs authorization specialist

The differences between physician specialists and authorization specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a physician specialist, becoming an authorization specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a physician specialist has an average salary of $210,219, which is higher than the $36,518 average annual salary of an authorization specialist.

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

Physician specialist vs authorization specialist overview

	Physician Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Yearly salary	$210,219	$36,518
Hourly rate	$101.07	$17.56
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	63,020	71,831
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	49	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does a physician specialist do?

A Physician Specialist is a doctor who specializes in a particular field of medicine, such as pediatrics, urology, psychiatry, and more. Their responsibilities revolve around studying the patients' medical history, conducting assessments and evaluations, developing care and treatment plans, prescribing medication, and helping patients understand their conditions and symptoms. In some cases, a Physician Specialist may recommend patients to undergo surgeries and other procedures. Moreover, aside from treating and diagnosing medical conditions, a Physician Specialist maintains an active communication line with nurses and technicians for a smooth and efficient workflow.

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.

Physician specialist vs authorization specialist salary

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

	Physician Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Average salary	$210,219	$36,518
Salary range	Between $111,000 And $396,000	Between $28,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Bradenton, FL	Milford, MA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Saint Luke's Health System	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between physician specialist and authorization specialist education

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

	Physician Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Physician specialist vs authorization specialist demographics

Here are the differences between physician specialists' and authorization specialists' demographics:

	Physician Specialist	Authorization Specialist
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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	9%	7%

Differences between physician specialist and authorization specialist duties and responsibilities

Physician specialist example responsibilities.

Manage providers' office and call schedules, outlook calendars and assist with surgery scheduling.
Generate referral letters for physicians, manage and sort medical documents within the EHR system, and assist with e-prescribing.
Review complete ultrasound and non-stress testing reports and assign appropriate ICD-10 and CPT codes.
Train in AllScripts EMR system.
Retrieve medical records from EMR and save to flash drive.
File written letters of appeal on claims deny by the Medicaid.

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.

Physician specialist vs authorization specialist skills

Common physician specialist skills

Patients, 39%
Patient Care, 23%
Surgery, 18%
Internal Medicine, 3%
Excellent Interpersonal, 2%
Patient Registration, 2%

Common authorization specialist skills

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

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Physician Specialist
Physician Specialist vs Authorization Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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