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What does a hospital technician do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

A hospital technician assists the doctors and nurses in a clinic or hospital. They assist healthcare administrators in providing quality health care to patients, which may include providing prescriptions to patients. They are expected to keep patient records, and they may also be called upon to operate some laboratory equipment. This position requires basic knowledge of how to operate hospital equipment.

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Hospital technician responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real hospital technician resumes:

  • Ensure proper transfer and disposition of medical record to the VA in CHCS are accomplished according to establish policies and procedures.
  • Verify patient demographics are correct in CHCS.
  • Book all medical appointments within HIPPA guidelines.
  • Communicate hospital rules and regulations to patients, relate availability of benefits provide to patients by various social service programs.
  • Interview patients in ER clinics and inpatient areas to obtain identify and financial information, verify patient eligibility for hospital service.
  • Construct telephone consults and referrals and input data into AHLTA.
  • Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
  • Process medical records request of patient and subpoenas requests.
  • Research files provide lists/photocopy of documents or subpoenas, attorney, vendors, etc.
  • Train employees on subrogation tracking, arbitration tracking, and total loss processes.

Hospital technician skills and personality traits

We calculated that 42% of Hospital Technicians are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Hospital Policies. They’re also known for soft skills such as Integrity, Analytical skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Hospital Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 42%

    Interviewed patients in ER clinics and inpatient areas to obtain identify and financial information, verify patient eligibility for hospital service.

  • Customer Service, 9%

    Provide customer service to ensure patient satisfaction.

  • Hospital Policies, 5%

    Verified patient eligibility for hospital services based on hospital policies and procedures and guidelines.

  • CPR, 5%

    Performed emergency critical care such as CPR, and before mentioned sterile procedures.

  • Direct Patient Care, 5%

    Provided direct patient care and assisted the nursing staff with patient duties.

  • Vital Signs, 4%

    Review and record consumer conditions such as vital signs and weight.

"patients," "customer service," and "hospital policies" are among the most common skills that hospital technicians use at work. You can find even more hospital technician responsibilities below, including:

Integrity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a hospital technician to have is integrity. Their role and responsibilities require that "health information technicians work with patient data that are required, by law, to be kept confidential." Hospital technicians often use integrity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepared, spliced and terminated fiber optic cables and conducted jacket integrity tests as required to ensure product quality. "

Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling hospital technician duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health information technicians must understand and follow medical records and diagnoses, and then decide how best to code them in a patient’s medical records." According to a hospital technician resume, here's how hospital technicians can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "collected patient demographic information for data entry. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of hospital technicians is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday hospital technician duties, as "health information technicians need to be able to discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements with other professionals such as physicians and finance personnel." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "demonstrate positive interpersonal skills while working with patients, families, physician, co-workers, and other departments. "

Technical skills. For certain hospital technician responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "technical skills." The day-to-day duties of a hospital technician rely on this skill, as "health information technicians must use coding and classification software and the electronic health record (ehr) system that their healthcare organization or physician practice has adopted." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what hospital technicians do: "produced technically correct and diagnostic ekg tracings every 4 hours, with any possible rhythm change, and in emergent situations. "

Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a hospital technician to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what hospital technicians relies on this skill, since "health information technicians must be accurate when recording and coding patient information." How this skill relates to hospital technician duties can be seen in an example from a hospital technician resume snippet: "deliver recovery-oriented psychosocial rehabilitation to individuals and groups. "

Most common hospital technician skills

The three companies that hire the most hospital technicians are:

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Compare different hospital technicians

Hospital technician vs. Medical biller coder

A medical biller coder is responsible for handling the billing processes and insurance within a hospital, clinic, or similar facility. They must gather patient information and records to analyze and translate them into codes according to the insurance and medical guidelines. Moreover, it is crucial to verify all patient forms and ensure their accuracy as it will serve as a basis on essential documents and medical record-keeping. There may also be instances where a medical biller coder must devise payment plans for patients, communicate with families and guardians, and coordinate with physicians.

We looked at the average hospital technician salary and compared it with the wages of a medical biller coder. Generally speaking, medical biller coders are paid $4,090 higher than hospital technicians per year.Even though hospital technicians and medical biller coders are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, customer service, and surgery in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, hospital technician responsibilities require skills like "hospital policies," "cpr," "direct patient care," and "vital signs." Meanwhile a typical medical biller coder has skills in areas such as "medical billing," "icd-10," "cpt-4," and "hcpcs." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Medical biller coders earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $39,875. On the other hand, hospital technicians are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,083.The education levels that medical biller coders earn slightly differ from hospital technicians. In particular, medical biller coders are 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a hospital technician. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hospital technician vs. Reimbursement specialist

A reimbursement specialist is responsible for analyzing insurance documents, processing reimbursement claims, and releasing accurate billing statements for insurance claims. Reimbursement specialists must have excellent analytical skills, especially on performing clerical tasks to evaluate insurance cases, investigate cases, and update the account information of the clients on the database. They should also have impeccable communication skills and understanding of the insurance processes to be able to coordinate with the clients, explaining the procedures of their claims accurately, and coordinate with the insurance management to improve the claims processes.

A career as a reimbursement specialist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a hospital technician. In fact, reimbursement specialists salary is $3,607 higher than the salary of hospital technicians per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both hospital technicians and reimbursement specialists have skills such as "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real hospital technician resumes. While hospital technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "hospital policies," "cpr," "direct patient care," and "vital signs," reimbursement specialists use skills like "appeals," "cpt," "medicare," and "hcpcs."

On average, reimbursement specialists earn a higher salary than hospital technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, reimbursement specialists earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $41,366. Whereas hospital technicians have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $33,083.In general, reimbursement specialists achieve similar levels of education than hospital technicians. They're 1.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hospital technician vs. Medical records clerk

Medical records clerks are employees in hospitals or clinics who manage office records. They are in charge of creating, updating, and filing patient-related medical records and other related documents. They ensure that all documents are correctly filled out and labeled before storing them safely in their respective storage areas. They may also be in charge of digitizing forms for easier access to files and back up purposes. They ensure that medical records are exact and updated. Medical records clerks should be organized and must always be on top of all tasks related to patient or medical records.

An average medical records clerk eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of hospital technicians. The difference in salaries amounts to medical records clerks earning a $2,175 lower average salary than hospital technicians.By looking over several hospital technicians and medical records clerks resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from hospital technician resumes include skills like "hospital policies," "cpr," "direct patient care," and "vital signs," whereas a medical records clerk is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "basic math," "math," and "english language. "

Medical records clerks earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $32,510. Comparatively, hospital technicians have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $33,083.medical records clerks typically earn similar educational levels compared to hospital technicians. Specifically, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hospital technician vs. Medical coder

A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.

Medical coders tend to earn a higher pay than hospital technicians by an average of $16,897 per year.While both hospital technicians and medical coders complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, surgery, and medical terminology, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between hospital technicians and medical coders, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a hospital technician might have more use for skills like "customer service," "hospital policies," "cpr," and "direct patient care." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of medical coders require skills like "cpc," "icd-10-cm," "ahima," and "clinical documentation. "

In general, medical coders earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $52,925. The highest-paying industry for a hospital technician is the health care industry.medical coders reach similar levels of education compared to hospital technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of hospital technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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