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The differences between hospital medical assistants and medical record assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a hospital medical assistant and a medical record assistant. Additionally, a hospital medical assistant has an average salary of $35,545, which is higher than the $34,870 average annual salary of a medical record assistant.
The top three skills for a hospital medical assistant include patients, vital signs and customer service. The most important skills for a medical record assistant are patients, data entry, and HIPAA.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,545 | $34,870 |
| Hourly rate | $17.09 | $16.76 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 164,640 | 91,238 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 37 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Hospital Medical Assistants offer a variety of services like clerical, technical, and patient care as long as they work under nurses or medical practitioners' supervision. While their specific tasks vary depending on the hospital, practice, or medical facility, they generally support medical practitioners and members of the health care team by recording vital patient information and occasionally assisting with minor, office-based procedures. Working as a hospital medical assistant requires skills like organizational skills, professionalism, confidentiality, and people skills to reach top performance levels for the role.
A medical record assistant is responsible for the proper documentation of the patients' information and medical records for reference to the attending physician or other medical professionals. Medical record assistants also track the patient's medical treatments and progress, as well as their health insurance details and coverage. They also respond to the patient's inquiries and concerns, including scheduling physician's appointments and updating the patients for any released medical results. A medical record assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, categorizing documents, and retrieving files for medical needs.
Hospital medical assistants and medical record assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,545 | $34,870 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $28,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woburn, MA | Napa, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Student Conservation Association | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | Education | Government |
There are a few differences between a hospital medical assistant and a medical record assistant in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between hospital medical assistants' and medical record assistants' demographics:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 9.5% White, 51.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 9% |