Health information administrator vs health information specialist

The differences between health information administrators 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 health information administrator and a health information specialist. Additionally, a health information administrator has an average salary of $54,667, which is higher than the $33,343 average annual salary of a health information specialist.

The top three skills for a health information administrator include HIPAA, transcription and hippa. The most important skills for a health information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and medical terminology.

Health information administrator vs health information specialist overview

	Health Information Administrator	Health Information Specialist
Yearly salary	$54,667	$33,343
Hourly rate	$26.28	$16.03
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	153,896	135,448
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Health information administrator vs health information specialist salary

Health information administrators and health information specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Information Administrator	Health Information Specialist
Average salary	$54,667	$33,343
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $90,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	University of California
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between health information administrator and health information specialist education

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

	Health Information Administrator	Health Information Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Computer Information Systems	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Georgetown University	University of Southern California

Health information administrator vs health information specialist demographics

Here are the differences between health information administrators' and health information specialists' demographics:

	Health Information Administrator	Health Information Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 18.5% Female, 81.5%	Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 62.5% 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 health information administrator and health information specialist duties and responsibilities

Health information administrator example 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.
Used HPF to (QCI) inpatient and outpatient documents.
Process accounts in assign facility HPF work queues/routers, extensive utilization of EMR.

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.

Health information administrator vs health information specialist skills

Common health information administrator skills

HIPAA, 27%
Transcription, 16%
Hippa, 14%
Epic, 11%
Subpoenas, 10%
CPT, 7%

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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Health Information Administrator vs Health Information Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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