Health information coder vs medical coding technician

The differences between health information coders and medical coding technicians 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 coder and a medical coding technician. Additionally, a health information coder has an average salary of $54,353, which is higher than the $35,307 average annual salary of a medical coding technician.

The top three skills for a health information coder include medical terminology, ICD-10-CM and CPC. The most important skills for a medical coding technician are medical billing, data entry, and front desk.

Health information coder vs medical coding technician overview

	Health Information Coder	Medical Coding Technician
Yearly salary	$54,353	$35,307
Hourly rate	$26.13	$16.97
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	112,238	67,197
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 30%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

What does a health information coder do?

A health information coder is responsible for translating the reports of physicians into beneficial medical codes. Health information coders make sure that all important information is appropriately coded for accuracy and consistency. The coders read the medical chart of a patient and analyze it and identify patient diagnoses and medical procedures. They categorize the diagnoses and the necessary procedures based on a national classification system. Also, they assign particular alphanumeric or numeric code to each procedure or diagnosis.

What does a medical coding technician do?

The job of a medical coding technician is to assist in the management of insurance claims, payments, and invoices. Your day-to-day duties may include reviewing claims data to ensure that the assigned codes meet the insurance and legal rules, understanding the diagnosis of patients and medical procedures that have been performed, and extracting information from documentation such as the name of the physician and the date of the procedure. Additionally, abmedical coding technician also follows up with patients and insurance firms regarding outstanding bills.

Health information coder vs medical coding technician salary

Health information coders and medical coding technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Information Coder	Medical Coding Technician
Average salary	$54,353	$35,307
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $78,000	Between $28,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between health information coder and medical coding technician education

There are a few differences between a health information coder and a medical coding technician in terms of educational background:

	Health Information Coder	Medical Coding Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 30%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Georgetown University	University of Pennsylvania

Health information coder vs medical coding technician demographics

Here are the differences between health information coders' and medical coding technicians' demographics:

	Health Information Coder	Medical Coding Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 12.0% Female, 88.0%	Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between health information coder and medical coding technician duties and responsibilities

Health information coder example responsibilities.

Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
Provide clerical services in registering patients and guests in ambulatory surgery facility.
Train staff on the HIPAA regulations.
Assist in instructing students for exam preparation for the CPC exam.
Maintain establish department policies and procedures, objectives, QA program, HIPAA compliance, environmental and infection control standards.
Code charts (Inpatient/Outpatient/Observation) according to EHR records to ensure all charges are accurately capture; hydration/infusion/EM levels & procedures.

Medical coding technician example responsibilities.

Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
Assign appropriate ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes in compliance with recognize coding principles and department policies.
Remain current on medical coding guidelines and HIPAA laws and regulations.
Reconcile clinical notes, patient encounter form, and health information for compliance with HIPAA rules.
Audit ROI program quarterly to ensure deadlines are completed and proper procedures for legal and personal requests are followed.
Train team members in all ROI processes, make independent decisions base on the provisions of these privacy laws and regulations.

Health information coder vs medical coding technician skills

Common health information coder skills

Medical Terminology, 11%
ICD-10-CM, 9%
CPC, 9%
Patients, 7%
Quality Standards, 6%
AHIMA, 6%

Common medical coding technician skills

Medical Billing, 14%
Data Entry, 12%
Front Desk, 10%
CPC, 9%
ICD-10-CM, 7%
Transcription, 6%

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Health Information Coder vs Medical Coding Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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