Physician specialist vs patient care specialist

The differences between physician specialists and patient care 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 a patient care specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a physician specialist has an average salary of $210,219, which is higher than the $34,157 average annual salary of a patient care specialist.

The top three skills for a physician specialist include patients, patient care and surgery. The most important skills for a patient care specialist are patients, patient care, and data entry.

Physician specialist vs patient care specialist overview

	Physician Specialist	Patient Care Specialist
Yearly salary	$210,219	$34,157
Hourly rate	$101.07	$16.42
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	63,020	146,861
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
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 a patient care specialist do?

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.

Physician specialist vs patient care specialist salary

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

	Physician Specialist	Patient Care Specialist
Average salary	$210,219	$34,157
Salary range	Between $111,000 And $396,000	Between $20,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Bradenton, FL	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Saint Luke's Health System	KPG
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between physician specialist and patient care specialist education

There are a few differences between a physician specialist and a patient care specialist in terms of educational background:

	Physician Specialist	Patient Care Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Physician specialist vs patient care specialist demographics

Here are the differences between physician specialists' and patient care specialists' demographics:

	Physician Specialist	Patient Care Specialist
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between physician specialist and patient care 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.

Patient care specialist example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Utilize software applications to document call interactions using medical terminology and responsible for initially engaging patients by explaining the services.
Verify CPT codes along with diagnosis code for guarantee payment for surgeries.
Process daily fee tickets and correctly enter office visit ICD 9 and CPT codes into the system for billing.
Adhere to HIPPA confidentiality guidelines.
Track Medicaid eligibility of clients.

Physician specialist vs patient care specialist skills

Common physician specialist skills

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

Common patient care specialist skills

Patients, 33%
Patient Care, 17%
Data Entry, 5%
Medical Terminology, 4%
CPT, 2%
CPR, 2%

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Physician Specialist
Physician Specialist vs Patient Care Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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