Scheduler vs patient care representative

The differences between schedulers and patient care representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a scheduler, becoming a patient care representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a scheduler has an average salary of $40,565, which is higher than the $33,709 average annual salary of a patient care representative.

The top three skills for a scheduler include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a patient care representative are patients, patient care, and home health.

Scheduler vs patient care representative overview

	Scheduler	Patient Care Representative
Yearly salary	$40,565	$33,709
Hourly rate	$19.50	$16.21
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	56,890	133,317
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	49	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does a scheduler do?

A scheduler is responsible for arranging appointments and carrying out reminder calls and correspondence to anyone involved. In a company setting, it is also a scheduler's responsibility to coordinate with various departments and personnel to organize an accurate timetable that will consist of meetings, gatherings, deadlines, or other pressing matters. Furthermore, a scheduler must have attention to detail as one must perform bookkeeping tasks, fix scheduling issues or conflicts, and organize documentation. There are also instances where one must process orders or payments.

What does a patient care representative do?

PCRs (Patient Care Representatives) are given responsibilities like updating and verifying patient information after every visit, scheduling and reminding patients about appointments, and informing patients about delays and how long the estimated waiting times will be. They are also responsible for obtaining patients' personal information like their address, contact details, insurance information, and medical and surgical history. They must be able to communicate with patients, family members, and medical staff to give them all the information they need to treat the person looking for medical help.

Scheduler vs patient care representative salary

Schedulers and patient care representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Scheduler	Patient Care Representative
Average salary	$40,565	$33,709
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $68,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	BP America Inc	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Construction	Technology

Differences between scheduler and patient care representative education

There are a few differences between a scheduler and a patient care representative in terms of educational background:

	Scheduler	Patient Care Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Scheduler vs patient care representative demographics

Here are the differences between schedulers' and patient care representatives' demographics:

	Scheduler	Patient Care Representative
Average age	49	40
Gender ratio	Male, 22.9% Female, 77.1%	Male, 17.1% Female, 82.9%
Race ratio	Black 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, 12.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between scheduler and patient care representative duties and responsibilities

Scheduler example responsibilities.

Manage clinic visit schedules, rehabilitation conferences, medical exams, trial appearances, depositions, etc.
Utilize knowledge of medical insurance including manage care, Medicare, Medicaid, liability and workman's compensation.
Manage patient pre-op responsibilities, and generate all necessary paperwork.
Schedule procedure, surgery f/u, register new patients, referrals, insurance, send nurse messages.
Schedule patients for test and surgery procedures with and without anesthesia using the Surgi-Server computerize scheduling system.
Schedule patients for radiology and nuclear medicine procedures, verify insurance benefits, and obtain prior authorizations for patient procedures.

Patient care representative example responsibilities.

Manage cash and co-payments accurately and discharge patients providing them with proper medical notes and information before exiting.
Verify insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, register patients, and code proper ICD-9 and CPT codes on encounters.
Utilize medical terminology, CPT, HCPC and ICD-9 and patient information into new authorizations.
Interview patients to gather information pertinent to their Medicaid application.
Screen, identify, and enter ICD-9 coding from treatment record forms.
Maintain patient confidentiality and follow HIPAA rules.

Scheduler vs patient care representative skills

Common scheduler skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Data Entry, 3%
Home Health, 3%

Common patient care representative skills

Patients, 25%
Patient Care, 13%
Home Health, 7%
Cash Management, 5%
Phone Calls, 4%
CPT, 3%

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Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Scheduler
Scheduler vs Patient Care Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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