What does a registration representative do?
In medical facilities, a registration representative serves as the patients' first point of contact in clinics and hospitals. They primarily greet patients, identify their needs, gather personal and medical information, and assist them in filling out forms. They must also handle admission and discharge procedures, process payments, arrange payment plans, and collect insurance information. Furthermore, as a registered representative, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.
Registration representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real registration representative resumes:
- Work with third party payer requirements including Medicare, Medicaid (AHCCCS), manage care plans, and commercial plans.
- Manage and update demographic and insurance information, including authorizations and referrals, while demonstrating HIPPA confidentiality regulations.
- Verify eligibility and insurance benefits for patients, including Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and workers' compensation.
- Maintain patient privacy in accordance with HIPAA with a high level of professionalism, compassion, productivity, and accuracy.
- Maintain proficient level of knowledge regarding Medicare requirements, HIPAA compliance and reimbursement criteria.
- Complete registration process for inpatients, outpatients, and emergency patients accurately and efficiently in accordance with policies and procedures.
- Register patients coming into the emergency room, verify patient demographics and insurance information, verify Medicaid/Medicare through internet passport.
- Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
- Document and record physician orders using appropriate ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes.
- Assign ICD-9 and HCPCS codes to patient diagnosis and enter into computer.
- Interview patients; verify demographic and insurance information in the Invision application program.
Registration representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Registration Representatives are proficient in Patients, Medical Terminology, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Customer-service skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Registration Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 25%
Completed registration process for inpatients, outpatients, and emergency patients accurately and efficiently in accordance with policies and procedures.
- Medical Terminology, 10%
Maintained knowledge of revenue cycle operations, third party reimbursement and medical terminology.
- Patient Care, 6%
Provided emergency assessment of all incoming registrations from multiple hospitals to facilitate accurate patient care processing.
- Customer Service, 6%
Provided outstanding Customer Service: gave voters additional information about electoral process; answered questions regarding registration procedures; etc.
- Health Insurance, 5%
Ensured that the proper documentation and interpretation of insurance is accurate in accordance with hospital policy and health insurance.
- Patient Registration, 4%
Perform patient registration functions by interviewing patient or responsible party to obtain identification and demographic information.
"patients," "medical terminology," and "patient care" are among the most common skills that registration representatives use at work. You can find even more registration representative responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. Many registration representative duties rely on customer-service skills. "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints.," so a registration representative will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways registration representative responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "evaluate customer's needs and advised patient of additional radiology exams. "
Listening skills. This is an important skill for registration representatives to perform their duties. For an example of how registration representative responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a registration representative: "obtained medical records, submitted registration reports, and communicated with the referrals office as to the status of registration process. ".
Patience. A big part of what registration representatives do relies on "patience." You can see how essential it is to registration representative responsibilities because "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical registration representative tasks: "respond to all patient interactions professionally with tact, patience, and compassion. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in registration representative job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what registration representatives do. Registration representative responsibilities rely on this skill because "representatives must determine solutions to customers’ problems." You can also see how registration representative duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "handled a variety of customer service tasks and resolved customer issues with expediency. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a registration representative does. Registration representative responsibilities require this skill because "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." This resume example highlights how registration representative duties rely on this skill: "researched accounts, provided superior customer service, effective communication skills. "
The three companies that hire the most registration representatives are:
- Methodist Health System24 registration representatives jobs
- Kaiser Permanente16 registration representatives jobs
- LifePoint Health14 registration representatives jobs
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Compare different registration representatives
Registration representative vs. Patient service specialist
A patient service representative serves as a patient's primary point of contact in a hospital or clinic, ensuring accuracy and customer satisfaction. They are mainly responsible for gathering a patient's information and medical history, verifying insurance forms, managing accounts, and processing payments, arranging appointments, and even performing reminder calls and correspondence. There are also instances when a patient service representative must discuss situations to patients and their families, and even alert the doctors when a patient displays strange or unlikely behavior.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between registration representatives and patient service specialist. For instance, registration representative responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "health insurance," "computer system," and "payment arrangements." Whereas a patient service specialist is skilled in "patient service," "physical therapy," "rehabilitation," and "office equipment." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Patient service specialists tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,449. In contrast, registration representatives make the biggest average salary, $34,337, in the health care industry.On average, patient service specialists reach similar levels of education than registration representatives. Patient service specialists are 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Registration representative vs. Patient care specialist
A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real registration representative resumes. While registration representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "health insurance," "patient registration," "physician orders," and "insurance cards," patient care specialists use skills like "cpr," "departmental policies," "home health," and "vital signs."
On average, patient care specialists earn a higher salary than registration representatives. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, patient care specialists earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,483. Whereas registration representatives have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $34,337.patient care specialists earn similar levels of education than registration representatives in general. They're 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Registration representative vs. Scheduling specialist
A scheduling specialist is responsible for managing the department's meeting, conference, and event schedules, as well as negotiating with suppliers and third-party vendors for appointment and program needs. Scheduling specialists may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, especially on communicating with clients and informing them of meetings, and responding to their concerns and inquiries. A scheduling specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of the data processing procedures to maintain the organization's database, updating clients' information, and tracking business transactions.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from registration representative resumes include skills like "patient registration," "insurance cards," "insurance authorizations," and "payment arrangements," whereas a scheduling specialist is more likely to list skills in "home health," "patient demographics," "surgery," and "appointment scheduling. "
Scheduling specialists earn the best pay in the transportation industry, where they command an average salary of $51,929. Registration representatives earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $34,337.scheduling specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to registration representatives. Specifically, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Registration representative vs. Patient service coordinator
Patient services coordinators act as a liaison between a healthcare organization and patients. Their primary job is to provide quality service to patients. Their duties and responsibilities include fielding telephone calls from patients, assessing patients' issues, and interacting with team members, medical personnel, and employees from other departments. Also, they are responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory and hospital requirements and maintaining quality service. Patient services coordinators must also ensure to maintain their technical knowledge by participating in personal networks, attending educational workshops, and reviewing professional publications.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between registration representatives and patient service coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a registration representative might have more use for skills like "health insurance," "insurance cards," "strong customer service," and "payment arrangements." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of patient service coordinators require skills like "patient flow," "check-in," "patient service," and "home health. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for patient service coordinators, with average annual pay of $35,469. Comparatively, the highest registration representative annual salary comes from the health care industry.In general, patient service coordinators hold similar degree levels compared to registration representatives. Patient service coordinators are 1.8% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of registration representative
Updated January 8, 2025
