Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs health information specialist

The differences between clinical documentation improvement specialists and health information specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a clinical documentation improvement specialist and a health information specialist. Additionally, a clinical documentation improvement specialist has an average salary of $64,797, which is higher than the $33,343 average annual salary of a health information specialist.

The top three skills for a clinical documentation improvement specialist include patients, patient care and clinical documentation improvement. The most important skills for a health information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and medical terminology.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs health information specialist overview

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Health Information Specialist
Yearly salary	$64,797	$33,343
Hourly rate	$31.15	$16.03
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	66,130	135,448
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	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 a health information specialist do?

A health information specialist is in charge of overseeing and developing strategies to optimize information management procedures in hospitals, physicians' offices, and other similar environments. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering and updating medical records, receiving and organizing files, and updating databases according to the appropriate coding systems and procedures. Furthermore, as a health information specialist, it is essential to coordinate with nurses and other staff to ensure accuracy in documentation, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs health information specialist salary

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Health Information Specialist
Average salary	$64,797	$33,343
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $87,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Madera, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Nuance Communications	University of California
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and health information specialist education

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Health Information Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Nursing	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Duke University	University of Southern California

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs health information specialist demographics

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Health Information Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%
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, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and health information specialist 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.

Health information specialist example responsibilities.

Manage chart completion (ICD-9-CM and CPT coding/abstracting), chart assembly and analysis, patient admission and patient information privacy/security.
Review and audit medical records for correct DRG and APC assignment.
Certify requests for subpoenas, court orders, legal cases and training of employees.
Utilize Cerner and Centricity systems to assist in ancillary services.
Abstract medical records with ICD9-CM, CPT and DRG coding.
Scan documentation via DCS into HPF to be index under ROI.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs health information specialist skills

Common clinical documentation improvement specialist skills

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

Common health information specialist skills

Patients, 26%
HIPAA, 11%
Medical Terminology, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Data Entry, 4%
Office Equipment, 3%

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Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist
Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist vs Health Information Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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