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The differences between medical coding technicians and medical technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a medical coding technician, becoming a medical technologist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical technologist has an average salary of $53,249, which is higher than the $35,307 average annual salary of a medical coding technician.
The top three skills for a medical coding technician include medical billing, data entry and front desk. The most important skills for a medical technologist are patients, clinical laboratory, and ASCP.
| Medical Coding Technician | Medical Technologist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,307 | $53,249 |
| Hourly rate | $16.97 | $25.60 |
| Growth rate | 11% | - |
| Number of jobs | 67,197 | 116,495 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
The job of a medical coding technician is to assist in the management of insurance claims, payments, and invoices. Your day-to-day duties may include reviewing claims data to ensure that the assigned codes meet the insurance and legal rules, understanding the diagnosis of patients and medical procedures that have been performed, and extracting information from documentation such as the name of the physician and the date of the procedure. Additionally, abmedical coding technician also follows up with patients and insurance firms regarding outstanding bills.
A medical technologist's role is to conduct laboratory tests with accuracy and speed. It is their responsibility to gather, prepare, and analyze samples such as blood, tissues, and bodily fluid. The produced results will be crucial to a patient's diagnosis and further treatments. It is also essential for medical technologists to keep a precise record of data and coordinate with fellow team members and physicians to ensure the fast and efficient delivery of results. Furthermore, a medical technologist can choose to work in different establishments such as a hospital, laboratory, or private clinic.
Medical coding technicians and medical technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Coding Technician | Medical Technologist | |
| Average salary | $35,307 | $53,249 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $43,000 | Between $41,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Children's Hospital Colorado |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical coding technician and a medical technologist in terms of educational background:
| Medical Coding Technician | Medical Technologist | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between medical coding technicians' and medical technologists' demographics:
| Medical Coding Technician | Medical Technologist | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% | Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |