Medical administrator vs medical records clerk

The differences between medical administrators and medical records clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical administrator, becoming a medical records clerk takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical administrator has an average salary of $35,713, which is higher than the $32,491 average annual salary of a medical records clerk.

The top three skills for a medical administrator include patients, patient care and medical terminology. The most important skills for a medical records clerk are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Medical administrator vs medical records clerk overview

	Medical Administrator	Medical Records Clerk
Yearly salary	$35,713	$32,491
Hourly rate	$17.17	$15.62
Growth rate	-8%	11%
Number of jobs	104,510	129,998
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 29%
Average age	49	45
Years of experience	2	12

What does a medical administrator do?

A medical administrator is in charge of overseeing a medical facility's daily operations, ensuring the efficiency of all services and processes. Among their responsibilities include setting goals and guidelines, studying the feedback of different parties, gathering and analyzing data to identify areas needing improvement, planning and organizing new services and projects, managing the medical staff, and developing strategies to optimize operations. They may also develop training programs for new and current employees, coordinating with experts in the medical field. Furthermore, as a medical administrator, it is essential to lead the workforce while implementing the hospital's policies and regulations.

What does a medical records clerk do?

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.

Medical administrator vs medical records clerk salary

Medical administrators and medical records clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Administrator	Medical Records Clerk
Average salary	$35,713	$32,491
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Hillsborough, NJ	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Alaska
Best paying company	W. R. Berkley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between medical administrator and medical records clerk education

There are a few differences between a medical administrator and a medical records clerk in terms of educational background:

	Medical Administrator	Medical Records Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 29%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Medical administrator vs medical records clerk demographics

Here are the differences between medical administrators' and medical records clerks' demographics:

	Medical Administrator	Medical Records Clerk
Average age	49	45
Gender ratio	Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between medical administrator and medical records clerk duties and responsibilities

Medical administrator example responsibilities.

Facilitate client relationships and manage surgery schedules, financial consultations, follow up care and ongoing maintenance.
Maintain a working knowledge and understanding of CPT and ICD-10 codes.
Provide patients with information explaining hospital admission policies, time of admission, and HIPPA privacy guidelines.
Receive and fulfill requests for release of information to patients and external providers following HIPPA guidelines
Attend classes to improve proficiency in billing using CPT and ICD9 codes with special modifiers.
Verify coverage for third-party insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and out of network benefits.

Medical records clerk example responsibilities.

Manage transition from in-house transcription system to outsource transcription service.
Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Perform infant labs and update the system with results, triage incoming patients, perform necessary resuscitation to baby and mom.
Provide information to medical facilities and patients when necessary and respond to subpoenas and other general release of patient information.
Experience in CPT and ICD-10 coding.

Medical administrator vs medical records clerk skills

Common medical administrator skills

Patients, 29%
Patient Care, 10%
Medical Terminology, 7%
HIPAA, 6%
CPT, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common medical records clerk skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

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Medical Administrator
Medical Administrator vs Medical Records Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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