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The differences between provider relations specialists and service specialists 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 service specialist. Additionally, a provider relations specialist has an average salary of $44,403, which is higher than the $44,150 average annual salary of a service specialist.
The top three skills for a provider relations specialist include provider relations, medicaid and health plan. The most important skills for a service specialist are patients, social work, and criminal justice.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $44,403 | $44,150 |
| Hourly rate | $21.35 | $21.23 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 70,700 | 207,020 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| 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 service specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns about the services offered by the organization. Service specialists' duties include responding to customers' requests, updating customers of promotional offers and new services, escalating high-level concerns to the appropriate department, and keeping accurate records of clients' issues and resolutions. Service specialists are also in charge of preparing customer surveys to rate their satisfaction and identifying opportunities for service improvement. A service specialist must display excellent customer service and communication skills to address clients' concerns efficiently and accurately.
Provider relations specialists and service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $44,403 | $44,150 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $65,000 | Between $27,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a provider relations specialist and a service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between provider relations specialists' and service specialists' demographics:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% | Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9% |
| 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, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |