Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs information management specialist

The differences between clinical documentation improvement specialists and information management 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 an information management specialist. Additionally, a clinical documentation improvement specialist has an average salary of $64,797, which is higher than the $54,515 average annual salary of an information management specialist.

The top three skills for a clinical documentation improvement specialist include patients, patient care and clinical documentation improvement. The most important skills for an information management specialist are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs information management specialist overview

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Information Management Specialist
Yearly salary	$64,797	$54,515
Hourly rate	$31.15	$26.21
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	66,130	151,152
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
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 an information management specialist do?

An information management specialist is responsible for maintaining the security benchmark of all databases across the organization to support business functions and client requirements. Information management specialists sort and file data on the network systems and pull up reports from the storage database. They also analyze project management plans and utilize data tools to identify solutions and collect critical information. An information management specialist handles data management system troubleshooting and provide resolution reports to avoid downtime reoccurrence.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs information management specialist salary

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Information Management Specialist
Average salary	$64,797	$54,515
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $87,000	Between $28,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	Madera, CA	Greenwich, CT
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Nuance Communications	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and information management specialist education

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Information Management Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	Duke University	University of Southern California

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs information management specialist demographics

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

	Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist	Information Management Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
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, 10.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical documentation improvement specialist and information management 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.

Information management specialist example responsibilities.

Manage a database to track all adverse drug reactions according to FDA guidelines.
Manage the IM application and infrastructure to maximize the use of standard applications and processes.
Write and modify Perl scripts to automate and streamline daily routines for the Tivoli environment.
Manage the current MPI program and patient portal, with direct supervision of data integrity processes and outcomes.
Achieve this goal by providing clear policies/justification for initiatives which impact designated FTE's.
Test configuration of DNS and DHCP functionality, configure VPN connections with IPSEC and PKI authentication methods.

Clinical documentation improvement specialist vs information management 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 information management specialist skills

Patients, 19%
Customer Service, 11%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Patient Care, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
Data Entry, 4%

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Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist
Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist vs Information Management Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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