How to hire an information management specialist

How to hire an information management specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step information management specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an information management specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new information management specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an information management specialist do?

Post an information management specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the information management specialist you need to hire. Certain information management specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an information management specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an information management specialist that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of information management specialists.

   Type of Information Management Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Information Management Specialist	Medical records and health information technicians, commonly referred to as health information technicians, organize and manage health information data. They ensure its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security in both paper and electronic systems... Show more	$13-50
   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... Show more	$12-19
   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... Show more	$17-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Medical Terminology
   • Patient Care
   • HIPAA
   • Data Entry
   • Cycle Management
   • Phone Calls
   • CPT
   • Windows
   • Computer System
   • Transcription
   • Troubleshoot
   • PowerPoint

   Check all skills

   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.

   More information management specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your information management specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An information management specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, information management specialists' average salary in hawaii is 60% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level information management specialists earn 73% less than senior-level information management specialists.
   • Certifications. An information management specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an information management specialist's salary.

   Average information management specialist salary

   $54,515yearly

   $26.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level information management specialist salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average information management specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$94,568	$45
   2	New York	$93,907	$45
   3	Pennsylvania	$91,186	$44
   4	Maryland	$87,498	$42
   5	District of Columbia	$85,597	$41
   6	Virginia	$85,469	$41
   7	Maine	$82,003	$39
   8	Delaware	$81,173	$39
   9	Michigan	$80,755	$39
   10	Illinois	$69,663	$33
   11	Ohio	$69,198	$33
   12	California	$66,329	$32
   13	Arizona	$53,632	$26
   14	Kansas	$53,276	$26
   15	North Carolina	$53,254	$26
   16	Georgia	$52,592	$25
   17	South Carolina	$52,340	$25
   18	Mississippi	$51,895	$25
   19	Wisconsin	$51,665	$25
   20	Indiana	$51,594	$25

   Average information management specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$153,672	$73.88	21
   2	Applied Materials	$132,622	$63.76	21
   3	Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith	$122,201	$58.75	35
   4	Point B	$120,754	$58.05	6
   5	BNY Mellon	$115,090	$55.33	39
   6	Baptist Health	$110,432	$53.09	4
   7	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$109,894	$52.83
   8	Washington Trust Bank	$109,344	$52.57	1
   9	Medtronic	$108,398	$52.11	280
   10	Novavax	$104,641	$50.31
   11	National Security	$103,960	$49.98
   12	Allergan plc	$102,679	$49.36
   13	Volt Systems LLC	$102,652	$49.35
   14	Regeneron	$101,515	$48.81	15
   15	Baptist Health Home Care	$100,332	$48.24	12
   16	Arizona Public Service	$99,029	$47.61
   17	Duke Energy	$98,505	$47.36	11
   18	DXC Technology	$97,226	$46.74	7
   19	QuintilesIMS	$97,158	$46.71	37
   20	Halifax Health	$96,534	$46.41	3

4. Writing an information management specialist job description

   A job description for an information management specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an information management specialist job description:

   Information management specialist job description example

   The Health Information Access Specialist is responsible for advanced level problem solving, organizing, training, and communicating within the department.
   
   This position is responsible for processing release of information requests for urgent, STAT, research, billing, patient use, and many other purposes. Release is performed by this person using multiple sources of media. This position also serves as the electronic health record external access support contact providing appropriate support and/or access to information while maintaining the utmost patient confidentiality, as well as supporting the contracted release of information vendor. The incumbent also manages the advance medical directive process of review and acceptance/rejection, scanning and acknowledging receipt of an advance directive via letter to the patient. Rejected documents may require staff to work with the patient to ensure accuracy of forms. This includes working with the patient and their families, and internal staff to ensure the document is valid prior to scanning it into the EMR. The incumbent is expected to make independent, on-the-spot decisions, which are typically in response to state statutes and federal regulations.
   
   This position requires considerable amount of knowledge of Release of Information and policies regarding privacy and security of protected health information (PHI), as well as excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills necessary to support the wide variety of customers both internal and external to Tufts Medical Center. This is needed in order to ensure that the patients' PHI remains secure while maintaining and/or releasing critical information to meet the organization's mission of patient care, research, teaching and community outreach.
   PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
   
   Release of Information/Advance Medical Directives/ External Access Support
   
   Requests for release of information
   
   o Review, access for compliance, prioritize, process/reject requests for ROI for all of Tufts Medical Center, determining the most efficient mode of delivery as to not negatively impact patient care, payment of claims, or accommodating Federal regulatory mandates, as well as to avoid any potential breaches
   
   Maintain accurate and complete ROI databases to account for all disclosures
   
   Follow statutory guidelines and other regulations to independently evaluate and respond appropriately to requests from individuals, families, legal representatives, insurance companies, healthcare providers or government agencies for the release of patient health information
   
   Advance medical directives and legal documents
   
   Review, assess for compliance, approve/accept or reject and scan applicable documents into the electronic health record
   
   Work with clinicians, social workers, and patients/families, etc. to ensure the most current, complete and appropriately documented patient directives and other miscellaneous legal documents and filed appropriately
   
   Schedule, coordinate and work with external customers regarding access to the paper and electronic health record including research, insurance and other quality audits and general viewings, as legally authorized
   
   Ensure privacy and security of all protected health information accessed and released is maintained at all times
   
   Provide telephone support from both internal and external callers (e.g., staff, doctors, patients, insurance companies, attorneys, etc.)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find information management specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your information management specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit information management specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting information management specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new information management specialist

   Once you've selected the best information management specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an information management specialist?