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The differences between provider relations specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a provider relations specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $44,403 average annual salary of a provider relations specialist.
The top three skills for a provider relations specialist include provider relations, medicaid and health plan. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $44,403 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $21.35 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 70,700 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Provider relations specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Provider Relations Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $44,403 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $65,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a provider relations specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between provider relations specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Provider Relations Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |