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The differences between medical records clerks and medical coders 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 records clerk and a medical coder. Additionally, a medical coder has an average salary of $51,563, which is higher than the $32,491 average annual salary of a medical records clerk.
The top three skills for a medical records clerk include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a medical coder are CPC, medical terminology, and ICD-10-CM.
| Medical Records Clerk | Medical Coder | |
| Yearly salary | $32,491 | $51,563 |
| Hourly rate | $15.62 | $24.79 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 129,998 | 51,316 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Associate Degree, 37% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
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. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.
Medical records clerks and medical coders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Records Clerk | Medical Coder | |
| Average salary | $32,491 | $51,563 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $37,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rochester, NY | Trenton, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical records clerk and a medical coder in terms of educational background:
| Medical Records Clerk | Medical Coder | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Associate Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Health Care Administration |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between medical records clerks' and medical coders' demographics:
| Medical Records Clerk | Medical Coder | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |