What do they do?
Compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. Classify medical and healthcare concepts, including diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment, into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system. Includes medical coders.
Also known as:
Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Coder, Health Information Clerk, Health Information Specialist, Health Information Technician (Health Information Tech), Health Records Specialist, HIM Clerk (Health Information Management Clerk), Medical Coder, Medical Records Clerk, Medical Records Custodian, Medical Records Technician (Medical Records Tech), RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician)
No Data Available
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3.4%
Change
Ranks #55 in job growth rate560Job Openings
Ranks #6 in net job growth
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- Some college, no degree (29%)
- Associate's degree (26%)
- High school diploma equivalent (21%)
- Bachelor's degree (17%)
- Master's degree (4%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (2%)
- Less than high school diploma (1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Medical Records Specialists
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#1
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Degrees Granted
9,033
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Female Students
8,432
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Male Students
601
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Median Starting Salary
$37,800
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#2
-
Degrees Granted
7,288
-
Female Students
6,762
-
Male Students
526
-
Median Starting Salary
$37,800
-
-
#3
-
Degrees Granted
2,393
-
Female Students
2,009
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Male Students
384
-
Median Starting Salary
$37,800
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Maintain security.
- Monitor medical facility activities to ensure adherence to standards or regulations.
- Process healthcare paperwork.
- Perform clerical work in medical settings.
- Communicate with management or other staff to resolve problems.
- Record patient medical histories.
- Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
- Code data or other information.
- Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
- Maintain medical facility records.
- Classify materials according to standard systems.
- Prepare official health documents or records.
- Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
- Schedule appointments.
- Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
This page includes data from:
Career data:
O*NET 31.0 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos:
CareerOneStop
, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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