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The differences between medical records technicians and health care administrators 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 technician and a health care administrator. Additionally, a health care administrator has an average salary of $68,187, which is higher than the $37,087 average annual salary of a medical records technician.
The top three skills for a medical records technician include patients, medical terminology and HIPAA. The most important skills for a health care administrator are patients, patient care, and health care services.
| Medical Records Technician | Health Care Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $37,087 | $68,187 |
| Hourly rate | $17.83 | $32.78 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 67,660 | 161,949 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A medical records technician is responsible for performing administrative duties, handling patients' medical records for medical purposes. Medical records technicians keep an organized database of patients' information, including medical history, diagnosis, healthcare treatments, laboratory schedules, and insurance details using specific healthcare coding procedures. Medical records technicians must be detail-oriented and highly organizational, especially on maintaining the accuracy and confidentiality of patients' information. This job is critical in the healthcare industry for the doctors' reference and determining treatment costs.
A health care administrator is primarily in charge of overseeing the daily administrative operations of medical and health care facilities. They are responsible for setting objectives, establishing guidelines and employee schedules, maintaining accurate records, gathering and analyzing data, developing strategies to optimize operations, and coordinating with nurses, physicians, patients, and other health care experts. Moreover, as a health care administrator, it is essential to address and resolve issues and concerns, implement the facility's policies and regulations, and ensure that procedures comply with health care laws and standards.
Medical records technicians and health care administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Records Technician | Health Care Administrator | |
| Average salary | $37,087 | $68,187 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $48,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Long Branch, NJ | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Guidehouse | One Brooklyn Health |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a medical records technician and a health care administrator in terms of educational background:
| Medical Records Technician | Health Care Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between medical records technicians' and health care administrators' demographics:
| Medical Records Technician | Health Care Administrator | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |