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The differences between medical records clerks and records 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 records clerk and a records specialist. Additionally, a records specialist has an average salary of $33,273, 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 records specialist are customer service, data entry, and office equipment.
| Medical Records Clerk | Records Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $32,491 | $33,273 |
| Hourly rate | $15.62 | $16.00 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 129,998 | 28,647 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| 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.
Records Specialists are administrative professionals who help manage the records of the company. These records may be physical documents or digital copies that are stored in a database. Records Specialists may assist in creating filing systems and knowledge management systems to ensure that the records they keep are easily accessible. They also keep an organized list or database of all the documents that are with them. Records Specialists are in charge of pulling up records upon the request of different departments or individuals. If they are working with physical copies, they ensure that these documents are returned to them. If they are working with digital copies, they ensure that the files they share are kept confidential. Records Specialists may also be in charge of analyzing trends and creating records-related reports.
Medical records clerks and records specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Records Clerk | Records Specialist | |
| Average salary | $32,491 | $33,273 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rochester, NY | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Oregon |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Mt. San Antonio College |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between a medical records clerk and a records specialist in terms of educational background:
| Medical Records Clerk | Records Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between medical records clerks' and records specialists' demographics:
| Medical Records Clerk | Records Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% | Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2% |
| 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, 8.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.5% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |