Health information management director vs information management specialist

The differences between health information management directors 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 health information management director and an information management specialist. Additionally, a health information management director has an average salary of $132,896, which is higher than the $54,515 average annual salary of an information management specialist.

The top three skills for a health information management director include patients, oversight and medical terminology. The most important skills for an information management specialist are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Health information management director vs information management specialist overview

	Health Information Management Director	Information Management Specialist
Yearly salary	$132,896	$54,515
Hourly rate	$63.89	$26.21
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	174,388	151,152
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

What does a health information management director do?

A Health Information Management Director develops and supervises health information systems. They also ensure that health information systems meet medical, legal, and ethical standards.

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.

Health information management director vs information management specialist salary

Health information management directors and information management specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Information Management Director	Information Management Specialist
Average salary	$132,896	$54,515
Salary range	Between $95,000 And $185,000	Between $28,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Greenwich, CT
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Connecticut
Best paying company	University of Maryland Medical System	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between health information management director and information management specialist education

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

	Health Information Management Director	Information Management Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Health information management director vs information management specialist demographics

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

	Health Information Management Director	Information Management Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 16.5% Female, 83.5%	Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.6% White, 60.2% 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 health information management director and information management specialist duties and responsibilities

Health information management director example responsibilities.

Manage EMR image title, deficiency table, physician table, ROI table.
Implement and manage projects with complex HL7 interfaces between multiple clinical systems including writing project plans.
Achieve this goal by providing clear policies/justification for initiatives which impact designated FTE's.
Provide physician education on documentation improvement initiatives for ICD-9 and ICD-10.
Code patient charts for inpatient stays and outpatient services receive for mental and chemical dependence rehabilitation.
Train and provide support for Eclinicalworks software.

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.

Health information management director vs information management specialist skills

Common health information management director skills

Patients, 21%
Oversight, 8%
Medical Terminology, 7%
ICD-10, 6%
Transcription, 6%
Revenue Cycle, 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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Health Information Management Director
Health Information Management Director vs Information Management Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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