Surgery scheduler vs referral coordinator

The differences between surgery schedulers and referral coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a surgery scheduler and a referral coordinator. Additionally, a referral coordinator has an average salary of $35,179, which is higher than the $34,472 average annual salary of a surgery scheduler.

The top three skills for a surgery scheduler include patients, medical terminology and customer service. The most important skills for a referral coordinator are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Surgery scheduler vs referral coordinator overview

	Surgery Scheduler	Referral Coordinator
Yearly salary	$34,472	$35,179
Hourly rate	$16.57	$16.91
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	56,058	65,934
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	2	2

What does a surgery scheduler do?

A surgery scheduler is responsible for organizing medical information, coordinating with doctors and other health professionals, and reaching out to patients to inform them of scheduled medical procedures and appointments. Surgery schedulers perform clerical and administrative duties, such as processing patients' payments, verifying insurance details, and updating their account information on the database. They also monitor the adequacy of inventory for medical operations and create purchase requests as needed. A surgery scheduler must have excellent communication skills, especially in responding to patients' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints.

What does a referral coordinator do?

A referral coordinator works with insurance companies and care providers to share essential patient information and assists primarily in scheduling appointments and managing health insurance issues. As a referral coordinator, you will work directly with the patient, patient families, or even social workers, depending on the job and patient needs. Other job responsibilities include general administrative or clerical tasks such as setting up appointments for new and existing patients, verifying insurance information before appointments, and answering phone calls.

Surgery scheduler vs referral coordinator salary

Surgery schedulers and referral coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Surgery Scheduler	Referral Coordinator
Average salary	$34,472	$35,179
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $43,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Danbury, CT	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Maine
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Horizon Laser Vision
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between surgery scheduler and referral coordinator education

There are a few differences between a surgery scheduler and a referral coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Surgery Scheduler	Referral Coordinator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	-

Surgery scheduler vs referral coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between surgery schedulers' and referral coordinators' demographics:

	Surgery Scheduler	Referral Coordinator
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 6.5% Female, 93.5%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between surgery scheduler and referral coordinator duties and responsibilities

Surgery scheduler example responsibilities.

Manage medical records and patient information within HIPPA guidelines
Manage patient pre-op responsibilities, and generate all necessary paperwork.
Request financial screening services for patients with limit Medicaid packages, as well as the uninsured.
Provide patients with information that explain hospital admission policies, time of admission and HIPPA privacy guidelines.
Execute administrative tasks such as ordering supplies and working with CPT and DX codes relate to accurate patient billing.
Maintain HIPAA and confidentiality standards.

Referral coordinator example responsibilities.

Establish rapport with all PCP offices, hospital personnel, and manage care representatives.
Ensure CPT and ICD-9 coding are accurate and complete according to AMA's guidelines and for third party intermediaries.
Contact medical insurance companies and provide ICD-9 diagnosis and CPT procedure codes for patient's illness, condition or injury.
Apply ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes to complete referral requests online or via fax.
Conduct the entire office's EHR process and create a system to track old and new patient's records.
Incorporate core organizational values of quality, respect, integrity, partnership, and compassion in all activities and decisions.

Surgery scheduler vs referral coordinator skills

Common surgery scheduler skills

Patients, 26%
Medical Terminology, 10%
Customer Service, 9%
Patient Care, 5%
Surgical Procedures, 4%
Surgery Scheduling, 4%

Common referral coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 12%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
EMR, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Surgery Scheduler
Surgery Scheduler vs Referral Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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