Post job

Referral specialist vs specialist

The differences between referral specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a referral specialist and a specialist. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $36,143 average annual salary of a referral specialist.

The top three skills for a referral specialist include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Referral specialist vs specialist overview

Referral SpecialistSpecialist
Yearly salary$36,143$58,013
Hourly rate$17.38$27.89
Growth rate-8%10%
Number of jobs72,016358,433
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4942
Years of experience22

What does a referral specialist do?

Referral specialists are responsible for ensuring patients are already cleared for specialty service office visits. They resolve registration, pre-certification, and case-related affairs before the client's appointment. Also, they give support to clinical staff to manage the administrative components of clinical referrals for many services. They must gather relevant information from financial counselors, insurance carriers, and other supplementary staff to make sure the patient's financial responsibility for services are provided. Additionally, they act as a liaison between the patients, physicians, hospitals, health insurance vendors, or other referral sources.

What does a specialist do?

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.

Referral specialist vs specialist salary

Referral specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Referral SpecialistSpecialist
Average salary$36,143$58,013
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $43,000Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew Jersey
Best paying companyCognizantThe Citadel
Best paying industryNon Profits-

Differences between referral specialist and specialist education

There are a few differences between a referral specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:

Referral SpecialistSpecialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-Stanford University

Referral specialist vs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between referral specialists' and specialists' demographics:

Referral SpecialistSpecialist
Average age4942
Gender ratioMale, 15.3% Female, 84.7%Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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 Percentage9%11%

Differences between referral specialist and specialist duties and responsibilities

Referral specialist example 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.
  • Research referrals and either deny or approve based on information obtain and appropriately identify diagnosis (CPT and ICD-9 coding).
  • Maintain confidentiality by following all applicable HIPAA regulations.
  • Show more

Specialist example responsibilities.

  • Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
  • Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
  • Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
  • Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
  • Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
  • Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).
  • Show more

Referral specialist vs specialist skills

Common referral specialist skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Medical Terminology, 9%
  • PET, 6%
  • Patient Care, 3%
  • Data Entry, 3%
Common specialist skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Work Ethic, 5%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Exceptional Client, 4%
  • Troubleshoot, 4%

Browse office and administrative jobs