Surgery scheduler vs surgical coordinator

The differences between surgery schedulers and surgical 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 surgical coordinator. Additionally, a surgical coordinator has an average salary of $36,765, 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 surgical coordinator are patients, surgical procedures, and patient care.

Surgery scheduler vs surgical coordinator overview

	Surgery Scheduler	Surgical Coordinator
Yearly salary	$34,472	$36,765
Hourly rate	$16.57	$17.68
Growth rate	-8%	6%
Number of jobs	56,058	73,088
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	49	44
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 surgical coordinator do?

Surgical coordinators are tasked to carry out administrative duties that are significant to surgical operations. These duties include keeping patient records, scheduling surgical equipment, entering post-surgical data, and surgery scheduling. They prepare bills for the patients and send them to a particular insurance company. It is their job to ensure the timely scheduling of surgical cases based on the directions of surgeons and physicians. The skills necessary for this job include strong multitasking and organizational skills, good typing skills, and experience in administrative, secretarial, or clerical work.

Surgery scheduler vs surgical coordinator salary

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

	Surgery Scheduler	Surgical Coordinator
Average salary	$34,472	$36,765
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $43,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Danbury, CT	-
Highest paying state	Connecticut	-
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between surgery scheduler and surgical coordinator education

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

	Surgery Scheduler	Surgical Coordinator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Surgery scheduler vs surgical coordinator demographics

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

	Surgery Scheduler	Surgical Coordinator
Average age	49	44
Gender ratio	Male, 6.5% Female, 93.5%	Male, 9.2% Female, 90.8%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between surgery scheduler and surgical 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.

Surgical coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage patient pre-op responsibilities, and generate all necessary paperwork.
Input medical procedures and diagnosis using ICD-9 and CPT medical codes to generate claims for insurance and patient billing.
Recommend optimization of patient flow for office visits and HIPAA policy enhancements.
Coordinate meetings, schedule surgeries/procedures, verify insurance coverage, ensure HIPAA compliance.
Provide patients and parents information; explanations of treatment plans, post-operative instructions and oral hygiene instructions.
Promote to back office and surgical coordinator position which duties include scheduling patients with hospital for inpatient procedures.

Surgery scheduler vs surgical coordinator skills

Common surgery scheduler skills

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

Common surgical coordinator skills

Patients, 35%
Surgical Procedures, 12%
Patient Care, 6%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Patient Demographics, 3%
Insurance Verification, 3%

Surgery Scheduler vs. similar jobs

Surgery Scheduler related careers

Surgery Scheduler related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Surgery Scheduler
Surgery Scheduler vs Surgical Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs