Certified professional coder vs medical records clerk

The differences between certified professional coders and medical records clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a certified professional coder and a medical records clerk. Additionally, a certified professional coder has an average salary of $52,683, which is higher than the $32,491 average annual salary of a medical records clerk.

The top three skills for a certified professional coder include CPC, medical terminology and AAPC. The most important skills for a medical records clerk are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Certified professional coder vs medical records clerk overview

	Certified Professional Coder	Medical Records Clerk
Yearly salary	$52,683	$32,491
Hourly rate	$25.33	$15.62
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	86,465	129,998
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 29%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

What does a certified professional coder do?

A certified professional coder oversees the daily medical coding operations of a medical facility, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations. They usually have the responsibility to provide coding to facilities, update databases, and conduct reviews and assessments to identify missing details or inconsistencies and perform corrective measures. Moreover, as a certified professional coder, it is essential to coordinate with external parties such as insurance providers and communicate with patients, assisting them by answering inquiries, explaining procedures, and solving issues and concerns if any would arise.

What does a medical records clerk do?

Medical records clerks are employees in hospitals or clinics who manage office records. They are in charge of creating, updating, and filing patient-related medical records and other related documents. They ensure that all documents are correctly filled out and labeled before storing them safely in their respective storage areas. They may also be in charge of digitizing forms for easier access to files and back up purposes. They ensure that medical records are exact and updated. Medical records clerks should be organized and must always be on top of all tasks related to patient or medical records.

Certified professional coder vs medical records clerk salary

Certified professional coders and medical records clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Professional Coder	Medical Records Clerk
Average salary	$52,683	$32,491
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between certified professional coder and medical records clerk education

There are a few differences between a certified professional coder and a medical records clerk in terms of educational background:

	Certified Professional Coder	Medical Records Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 29%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Certified professional coder vs medical records clerk demographics

Here are the differences between certified professional coders' and medical records clerks' demographics:

	Certified Professional Coder	Medical Records Clerk
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 8.9% Female, 91.1%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.3% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between certified professional coder and medical records clerk duties and responsibilities

Certified professional coder example responsibilities.

Manage the outsourced transcription company.
Apply ICD-10-CM, CPT-4 codes and modifiers in accordance with federal regulations.
Validate DRG's for inpatient and inpatient RAC appeals as well as validating DRG changes.
Assist with insurance verification and registration, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Review, analyze, and code all ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnoses.
Work all age reports for all Medicaid.

Medical records clerk example responsibilities.

Manage transition from in-house transcription system to outsource transcription service.
Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Perform infant labs and update the system with results, triage incoming patients, perform necessary resuscitation to baby and mom.
Provide information to medical facilities and patients when necessary and respond to subpoenas and other general release of patient information.
Experience in CPT and ICD-10 coding.

Certified professional coder vs medical records clerk skills

Common certified professional coder skills

CPC, 20%
Medical Terminology, 9%
AAPC, 8%
Patients, 7%
ICD-10-CM, 5%
E/M, 4%

Common medical records clerk skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

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Certified Professional Coder vs Medical Records Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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