Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between cancer registrars and medical records technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a cancer registrar and a medical records technician. Additionally, a cancer registrar has an average salary of $49,393, which is higher than the $37,087 average annual salary of a medical records technician.
The top three skills for a cancer registrar include patients, CTR and medical terminology. The most important skills for a medical records technician are patients, medical terminology, and HIPAA.
| Cancer Registrar | Medical Records Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $49,393 | $37,087 |
| Hourly rate | $23.75 | $17.83 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 11,722 | 67,660 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Cancer registrars collect and report data related to cancer. They gather information like the history, treatment used, diagnosis, and current status of cancer patients. The data collected will be used by cancer treatment facilities, healthcare workers, researchers, and several others to improve the knowledge that every health care department have and to increase the chances of survival of cancer patients. Some of the basic skills that a cancer registrar should have are analytical skills, detail orientation, and critical thinking skills to make sure that all data gathered are documented and stored in a safe place.
A medical records technician is responsible for performing administrative duties, handling patients' medical records for medical purposes. Medical records technicians keep an organized database of patients' information, including medical history, diagnosis, healthcare treatments, laboratory schedules, and insurance details using specific healthcare coding procedures. Medical records technicians must be detail-oriented and highly organizational, especially on maintaining the accuracy and confidentiality of patients' information. This job is critical in the healthcare industry for the doctors' reference and determining treatment costs.
Cancer registrars and medical records technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cancer Registrar | Medical Records Technician | |
| Average salary | $49,393 | $37,087 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $72,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Long Branch, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Guidehouse |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a cancer registrar and a medical records technician in terms of educational background:
| Cancer Registrar | Medical Records Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Health Care Administration |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between cancer registrars' and medical records technicians' demographics:
| Cancer Registrar | Medical Records Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 7.8% Female, 92.2% | Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.7% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |