Medical records director vs health information technician

The differences between medical records directors and health information technicians 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 director and a health information technician. Additionally, a medical records director has an average salary of $59,897, which is higher than the $34,604 average annual salary of a health information technician.

The top three skills for a medical records director include patients, HIPAA and ICD-10. The most important skills for a health information technician are patients, medical terminology, and customer service.

Medical records director vs health information technician overview

	Medical Records Director	Health Information Technician
Yearly salary	$59,897	$34,604
Hourly rate	$28.80	$16.64
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	53,854	120,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Medical records director vs health information technician salary

Medical records directors and health information technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Records Director	Health Information Technician
Average salary	$59,897	$34,604
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $102,000	Between $26,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	-	Fairbanks, AK
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Stifel Financial
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between medical records director and health information technician education

There are a few differences between a medical records director and a health information technician in terms of educational background:

	Medical Records Director	Health Information Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Medical records director vs health information technician demographics

Here are the differences between medical records directors' and health information technicians' demographics:

	Medical Records Director	Health Information Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%	Male, 16.5% Female, 83.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 8.3% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between medical records director and health information technician duties and responsibilities

Medical records director example responsibilities.

Achieve this goal by providing clear policies/justification for initiatives which impact designated FTE's.
Educate physicians and entire hospital staff on ICD-10.
Prepare all insurance claims including CPT and ICD coding.
Review all records to assure ICD-9-CM coding is completed.
Maintain and monitor ICD-9-CM coding data accuracy submit to UIS.
Transmit MDS's to the state website as required per protocol.

Health information technician example responsibilities.

Maximize ROI by effectively managing the microfiche process.
Assist patients and staff on filling out ROI's, and explain what exactly are being release or obtain.
Perform analysis and assembly of emergency room and surgery records and release records according to HIPAA regulations and confidentially.
Input data into a windows base in-house system.
Scan medical records in the EHR using the NEXTGEN software.
Attend advanced SQL coding workshops to optimize and refine database infrastructure.

Medical records director vs health information technician skills

Common medical records director skills

Patients, 18%
HIPAA, 9%
ICD-10, 6%
Home Health, 6%
CPT, 6%
Recordkeeping, 5%

Common health information technician skills

Patients, 20%
Medical Terminology, 13%
Customer Service, 9%
HIPAA, 9%
Patient Care, 7%
Data Entry, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Records Director
Medical Records Director vs Health Information Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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