Medical auditor vs health information specialist

The differences between medical auditors and health information 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 medical auditor and a health information specialist. Additionally, a medical auditor has an average salary of $53,683, which is higher than the $33,343 average annual salary of a health information specialist.

The top three skills for a medical auditor include ICD-10, HCPCS and HIPAA. The most important skills for a health information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and medical terminology.

Medical auditor vs health information specialist overview

	Medical Auditor	Health Information Specialist
Yearly salary	$53,683	$33,343
Hourly rate	$25.81	$16.03
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	68,870	135,448
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

What does a medical auditor do?

Medical auditors are in charge of precise documentation, unaccountable operations, and determining areas for enhancement for any healthcare organization. Their responsibilities include conducting an internal and external assessment of coding accuracy, policies, and strategies to make sure a systematic and feasible delivery of care. Also, they determine any erroneous or misplaced documentation that could lead to negative consequences for their equipment. Additionally, they educate their medical on correct documenting protocols and give updates with new codings, insurance, and government guidelines.

What does a health information specialist do?

A health information specialist is in charge of overseeing and developing strategies to optimize information management procedures in hospitals, physicians' offices, and other similar environments. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering and updating medical records, receiving and organizing files, and updating databases according to the appropriate coding systems and procedures. Furthermore, as a health information specialist, it is essential to coordinate with nurses and other staff to ensure accuracy in documentation, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Medical auditor vs health information specialist salary

Medical auditors and health information specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Auditor	Health Information Specialist
Average salary	$53,683	$33,343
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $81,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	California
Best paying company	TÜV SÜD America	University of California
Best paying industry	Insurance	Health Care

Differences between medical auditor and health information specialist education

There are a few differences between a medical auditor and a health information specialist in terms of educational background:

	Medical Auditor	Health Information Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Southern California

Medical auditor vs health information specialist demographics

Here are the differences between medical auditors' and health information specialists' demographics:

	Medical Auditor	Health Information Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 18.6% Female, 81.4%	Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between medical auditor and health information specialist duties and responsibilities

Medical auditor example responsibilities.

Review confidential and substantial health documentation and make sound, evidence-base decisions concerning compliance to HIPPA and other manage care policies.
Handle and interpret medical documentation such as UB04 claim forms and EOB's on a daily basis.
Review all EOB's to ensure claim paid per contract and submit appeals for claims underpay or deny payment in error.
Review medical records to determine if clinical documentation support coding and DRG assignments.
Advance knowledge - CMS and provider contract rules.
Process HCFA and UB claims in a production environment.

Health information specialist example responsibilities.

Manage chart completion (ICD-9-CM and CPT coding/abstracting), chart assembly and analysis, patient admission and patient information privacy/security.
Review and audit medical records for correct DRG and APC assignment.
Certify requests for subpoenas, court orders, legal cases and training of employees.
Utilize Cerner and Centricity systems to assist in ancillary services.
Abstract medical records with ICD9-CM, CPT and DRG coding.
Scan documentation via DCS into HPF to be index under ROI.

Medical auditor vs health information specialist skills

Common medical auditor skills

ICD-10, 12%
HCPCS, 10%
HIPAA, 9%
Patients, 8%
Surgery, 6%
Audit Findings, 5%

Common health information specialist skills

Patients, 26%
HIPAA, 11%
Medical Terminology, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Data Entry, 4%
Office Equipment, 3%

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Medical Auditor vs Health Information Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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