How To Become A Health Information Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a health information administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Virginia Wilcox

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a health information administrator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.28 an hour? That's $54,667 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 23,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a health information administrator?

Virginia Wilcox

Associate Professor of Education, Wesleyan College

Go into this knowing every single person you encounter was once in your shoes...new, confused, anxious, worried, etc.
The quickest way to make a friend is to ask for help. Everyone (even the most hardened) likes feeling needed and/or appreciated.
So...even if it's as minor as asking for advice on what color to use on the bulletin board or as major as asking for ideas on how to engage an unruly student...
ASK someone not only will you get the assistance you need, you will make their day...AND...you may find that you've made an invaluable step toward a new friendship.

ScoreHealth Information AdministratorUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,667

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.35%

Asian 8.02%

Black or African American 9.42%

Hispanic or Latino 14.47%

Unknown 4.28%

White 62.45%

Gender

female 81.54%

male 18.46%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a health information administrator

Explore health information administrator education requirements

Most common health information administrator degrees

Bachelor's

48.4 %

Associate

35.5 %

Master's

8.6 %

Start to develop specific health information administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
HIPAA	26.83%
Transcription	15.53%
Hippa	13.79%
Epic	10.92%
Subpoenas	10.12%

Complete relevant health information administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health information administrators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health information administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health information administrator resumes.

Research health information administrator duties and responsibilities

Achieve this goal by providing clear policies/justification for initiatives which impact designated FTE's.
Improve processes to reduce turnaround times for release of information, thus meeting HIPAA compliance.
Protect the security of medical records to ensure confidentiality in accordance to HIPPA guidelines.
Maintain open communication for areas of responsibility with patients, providers, administration, other managers and other departments.

Prepare your health information administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health information administrator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health information administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable health information administrator resume templates

Build a professional health information administrator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your health information administrator resume.