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The differences between senior medical assistants and medical scribes can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior medical assistant and a medical scribe. Additionally, a senior medical assistant has an average salary of $37,113, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.
The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a medical scribe are patients, medical terminology, and excellent organizational.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $30,045 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $14.44 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 80,035 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A senior medical assistant performs support tasks for physicians, nurses, and managers in a medical facility to ensure that patients get to receive optimal care and services. In general, they are responsible for handling calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, verifying patient information, liaising with external parties such as insurance providers, monitoring the inventory of medical supplies, and performing regular maintenance checks. Moreover, they must assist patients by answering inquiries, helping them in filling out forms, and making them feel comfortable throughout the procedures.
As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.
Senior medical assistants and medical scribes have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $30,045 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $23,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Boston Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a medical scribe in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Biology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and medical scribes' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Scribe | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |