Physician specialist vs registration specialist

The differences between physician specialists and registration 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 registration specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a physician specialist has an average salary of $210,219, which is higher than the $30,422 average annual salary of a registration specialist.

The top three skills for a physician specialist include patients, patient care and surgery. The most important skills for a registration specialist are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Physician specialist vs registration specialist overview

	Physician Specialist	Registration Specialist
Yearly salary	$210,219	$30,422
Hourly rate	$101.07	$14.63
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	63,020	79,118
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
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 registration specialist do?

A registration specialist is responsible for managing patient information, including the verification of their insurance details and medical treatment schedules. Registration specialists assign admission rooms and processing payments for discharge. They also assist patients with the completion of medical forms by helping them fill-out papers with the most accurate information. A registration specialist performs administrative and clerical duties as needed, requiring them to have excellent data management skills to process information and provide the highest quality care services for the patients.

Physician specialist vs registration specialist salary

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

	Physician Specialist	Registration Specialist
Average salary	$210,219	$30,422
Salary range	Between $111,000 And $396,000	Between $23,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Bradenton, FL	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Saint Luke's Health System	Deloitte
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between physician specialist and registration specialist education

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

	Physician Specialist	Registration Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Physician specialist vs registration specialist demographics

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

	Physician Specialist	Registration Specialist
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between physician specialist and registration 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.

Registration specialist example responsibilities.

Attain and authenticate patient insurance information, counsel patients on changes in insurance policies, verify patient demographics.
Help patients through the registration and admitting processes and also contribute to the PBX department.
Input data entries for insurance billing; adding CPT codes and diagnosis from face sheets as patients arrive.
Act as hospital PBX operator.
Complete all charge entry, enter all CPT and ICD-9 codes for billing for multiple doctors each day.
Enter patient information and verify information according to HIPAA regulations.

Physician specialist vs registration specialist skills

Common physician specialist skills

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

Common registration specialist skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 14%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Patient Registration, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Data Entry, 4%

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Physician Specialist vs Registration Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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