Public health director vs patient care manager

The differences between public health directors and patient care managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a public health director and a patient care manager. Additionally, a public health director has an average salary of $85,569, which is higher than the $65,369 average annual salary of a patient care manager.

The top three skills for a public health director include community health, public health and public health programs. The most important skills for a patient care manager are home health, patients, and quality care.

Public health director vs patient care manager overview

	Public Health Director	Patient Care Manager
Yearly salary	$85,569	$65,369
Hourly rate	$41.14	$31.43
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	75,124	123,652
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a public health director do?

Public affairs specialists, also called media or communication specialists, are responsible for communicating with the public on behalf of an individual, company, government, or politicians. This role will require you to perform various tasks including creating press kit materials, such as images, press releases, and pitch letters for media outlets, maintaining the reputation and identity of the client or employer, and evaluating clients' public opinion through polls, social media listening, and surveys. In addition, public affairs specialists are responsible for evaluating promotional and advertising programs.

What does a patient care manager do?

Patient care managers are executives who are in charge of supervising a clinical team. The managers take responsibility for directing patient care within an organization. Also called health care managers, they protect every patient's safety and health in a clinical setting. They interact with the healthcare team members to maintain open communication. It is also part of their duties to supervise the daily operations in the clinical care units. Managing clinical budgets and maintaining quality health services are also their responsibilities.

Public health director vs patient care manager salary

Public health directors and patient care managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Director	Patient Care Manager
Average salary	$85,569	$65,369
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $131,000	Between $36,000 And $117,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	California
Best paying company	Jefferson County Health Center	Accenture
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between public health director and patient care manager education

There are a few differences between a public health director and a patient care manager in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Director	Patient Care Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Pennsylvania

Public health director vs patient care manager demographics

Here are the differences between public health directors' and patient care managers' demographics:

	Public Health Director	Patient Care Manager
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.7% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public health director and patient care manager duties and responsibilities

Public health director example responsibilities.

Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
Provide continuing medical education with HIV and TB specialists on the prevention and control of HIV and TB.
Provide oversight for communicable disease surveillance, investigation and control, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness.
Position demand expertise in grant oversight, strategic project planning, program management, and stakeholder collaboration.
Provide clinical exercise physiology services and health/wellness counseling for family practice/sports medicine/orthopedics medical group effecting positive lifestyle changes in patients serve.
Conduct and implement group WIC orientation emphasizing WIC benefits.

Patient care manager example responsibilities.

Manage complicated cases involving serious injuries, medical evacuations, cruise ship disembarkation, and repatriation of remains with compassion.
Direct oversight of all case management and education relate to chronic disease and primary care management.
Utilize resources such as financial and pharmacy assistance for uninsure patients to receive professional medical care upon discharge.
Prevent unnecessary hospital admissions using keen assessment skills and redirecting to PCP's office when appropriate.
Ensure compliance both with HIPAA and CMS, to include all audits and enrollments via Medicare.
Plant and maintain flower beds such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, and pruning.

Public health director vs patient care manager skills

Common public health director skills

Community Health, 15%
Public Health, 10%
Public Health Programs, 8%
Public Health Issues, 6%
Health Education, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common patient care manager skills

Home Health, 15%
Patients, 12%
Quality Care, 8%
Social Work, 7%
Community Resources, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

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Public Health Director
Public Health Director vs Patient Care Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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