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The differences between medical language specialists and medical record assistants 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 language specialist and a medical record assistant. Additionally, a medical language specialist has an average salary of $47,117, which is higher than the $34,870 average annual salary of a medical record assistant.
The top three skills for a medical language specialist include transcription, discharge summaries and dictation. The most important skills for a medical record assistant are patients, data entry, and HIPAA.
| Medical Language Specialist | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $47,117 | $34,870 |
| Hourly rate | $22.65 | $16.76 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 71,209 | 91,238 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Medical Language Specialist transcribes medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners. They listen to recorded dictations of medical professionals and turn them into diagnostic test results, articles, and other documents.
A medical record assistant is responsible for the proper documentation of the patients' information and medical records for reference to the attending physician or other medical professionals. Medical record assistants also track the patient's medical treatments and progress, as well as their health insurance details and coverage. They also respond to the patient's inquiries and concerns, including scheduling physician's appointments and updating the patients for any released medical results. A medical record assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, categorizing documents, and retrieving files for medical needs.
Medical language specialists and medical record assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Language Specialist | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Average salary | $47,117 | $34,870 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Napa, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a medical language specialist and a medical record assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Language Specialist | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Business |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between medical language specialists' and medical record assistants' demographics:
| Medical Language Specialist | Medical Record Assistant | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 7.3% Female, 92.7% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.9% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |