How To Become A Referral Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a referral specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A referral specialist is an individual who works in the healthcare industry to manage patient referrals to specialists. They are responsible for ensuring that patients receive the appropriate care from the right specialists by coordinating with healthcare providers and keeping track of patient records. The referral specialist also ensures that referrals meet insurance requirements. Overall, a referral specialist plays a critical role in ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate care from specialists.

ScoreReferral SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,143

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 3.77%

Black or African American 9.57%

Hispanic or Latino 11.96%

Unknown 3.77%

White 70.56%

Gender

female 84.70%

male 15.30%

Age - 51

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.3

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a referral specialist?

Pros

Opportunity to help patients navigate the healthcare system
Potential for job growth and advancement
Often flexible work schedules
Positive impact on patient outcomes
Opportunity to build relationships with referring providers

Cons

High stress and pressure to meet quotas and deadlines
Emotional toll of dealing with patients in difficult situations
Difficult to maintain work-life balance during peak times
Repetitive and monotonous tasks
Need to stay up-to-date on constantly changing insurance policies and regulations

Key steps to become a referral specialist

Explore referral specialist education requirements

Most common referral specialist degrees

Bachelor's

44.4 %

Associate

22.3 %

High School Diploma

12.0 %

Start to develop specific referral specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	17.01%
Customer Service	11.81%
Medical Terminology	8.72%
PET	5.86%
Patient Care	3.27%

Complete relevant referral specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New referral specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a referral specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real referral specialist resumes.

Gain additional referral specialist certifications

Referral specialist certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific referral specialist certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for referral specialists include Medical Assistant and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).

More About Certifications

Research referral specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage assignments of paying medical bills limit in depth that include organizing and researching regulations as pertain to veterans eligibility.
Interview patients, evaluate eligibility, collect co-pays, deductibles, including, but not limit to insurance verification.
Input HIPAA information, call physician offices to verify testing, collect copay's and deductibles.
Arrange for debt repayments or establish repayment schedules and send out insurance claims with the correct ICD-9 and CPT codes.

Prepare your referral specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your referral specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a referral specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable referral specialist resume templates

Build a professional referral specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your referral specialist resume.