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The differences between provider relations specialists and provider services representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a provider relations specialist and a provider services representative. Additionally, a provider relations specialist has an average salary of $44,403, which is higher than the $33,858 average annual salary of a provider services representative.
The top three skills for a provider relations specialist include provider relations, medicaid and health plan. The most important skills for a provider services representative are customer service, data entry, and patients.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Provider Services Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $44,403 | $33,858 |
| Hourly rate | $21.35 | $16.28 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 70,700 | 252,118 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Provider relations specialists are professionals who work for insurance companies as the primary contact for health care providers such as clinics and hospitals. These specialists are required to provide answers about service contracts and billing procedures to health care providers. They must handle the documents of patients to ensure that proper paperwork has been filed for coverage while developing communications with providers about any policy changes. Provider relations specialists must also travel to different health care organizations to provide training to their staff on insurance policies and procedures.
A provider services representative is responsible for supporting, developing, and maintaining service relationships with involved participants, including providers, physicians, and administrators. Your duties typically include responding to direct and electronic questions from clients about rates, policies, referrals, and eligibility, handling telephone calls for the provider and member inquiries, and resolving complaints by the member and member representative. In addition, you will be assisting in collecting supporting data and documentation about the member's care. You are also expected to conduct research to be able to provide a well-informed answer to members' inquiries.
Provider relations specialists and provider services representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Provider Services Representative | |
| Average salary | $44,403 | $33,858 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $65,000 | Between $24,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a provider relations specialist and a provider services representative in terms of educational background:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Provider Services Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between provider relations specialists' and provider services representatives' demographics:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Provider Services Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% | Male, 22.2% Female, 77.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |