Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs educator

The differences between clinical documentation improvement specialists and educators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a clinical documentation improvement specialist has an average salary of $64,797, which is higher than the $43,760 average annual salary of an educator.

The top three skills for a clinical documentation improvement specialist include patients, patient care and clinical documentation improvement. The most important skills for an educator are customer service, product knowledge, and patients.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs educator overview

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Educator
Yearly salary	$64,797	$43,760
Hourly rate	$31.15	$21.04
Growth rate	11%	4%
Number of jobs	66,130	28,019
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	45	42
Years of experience	12	-

What does a clinical documentation improvement specialist do?

Clinical documentation improvement specialists are professionals who are involved in the clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program that incorporates the terminology needed to translate a patient's condition into precise codes. These specialists must investigate complex healthcare reimbursement information to ensure that appropriate documentation is provided for proper patient care. They must collaborate with physicians and medical record coding staff so that they facilitate the clinical documentation improvement process. Clinical documentation improvement specialists must also train members of the patient care team about the documentation guidelines for medical records.

What does an educator do?

An educator is responsible for teaching students and contributes to their learning development. Duties of an educator include creating learning modules and materials, developing engaging activities, and facilitating learners' discussions. They are also in charge of monitoring the learners' progress, evaluating learners' knowledge by providing a series of assessments, helping a learner to gain self-confidence, and encouraging the learners to reach their maximum potential. An educator should have excellent communication and adaptation skills, especially on adjusting to different learning methods and approaches that the students will need.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs educator salary

Clinical documentation improvement specialists and educators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Educator
Average salary	$64,797	$43,760
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $87,000	Between $29,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	Madera, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Nuance Communications	Google
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and educator education

There are a few differences between a clinical documentation improvement specialist and an educator in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Educator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Nursing	Education
Most common college	Duke University	University of Pennsylvania

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs educator demographics

Here are the differences between clinical documentation improvement specialists' and educators' demographics:

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Educator
Average age	45	42
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 28.9% Female, 71.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and educator duties and responsibilities

Clinical documentation improvement specialist example responsibilities.

Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
Interact directly with physicians to query for more specific documentation and to provide documentation guidelines from ICD-9 and ICD-10 standards.
Prepare, maintain and update clinical documentation ensuring completeness and accuracy of services provide to the patients.
Assign the correct POA status.
Participate in the initiation of the CDIS program.
Train new employees on how to utilize radiology information systems.

Educator example responsibilities.

Manage classroom behavior, oversee instruction for under-performing, over-achieving and ESL students, and lead private tutoring lessons.
Manage revolving caseload of students with IEP team including initials, transfer placements, manifestation determinations.
Develop curriculum and teach PC, GED and ABE adult education classes.
Involve in new employee orientation to the facility as well as teaching BLS and ACLS
Collaborate with math professionals in reinforcing concepts acquire within the student's primary learning environment.
Help meet WIC program participation goals.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs educator skills

Common clinical documentation improvement specialist skills

Patients, 18%
Patient Care, 13%
Clinical Documentation Improvement, 12%
CCDS, 8%
ICD-10, 7%
CCS, 6%

Common educator skills

Customer Service, 20%
Product Knowledge, 10%
Patients, 8%
Classroom Management, 8%
Curriculum Development, 5%
Professional Development, 5%

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Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist
Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist vs Educator

Updated January 8, 2025

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