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Medical records technician vs records coordinator

The differences between medical records technicians and records coordinators 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 records coordinator. Additionally, a records coordinator has an average salary of $40,360, 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 records coordinator are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Medical records technician vs records coordinator overview

Medical Records TechnicianRecords Coordinator
Yearly salary$37,087$40,360
Hourly rate$17.83$19.40
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs67,66025,060
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

What does a medical records technician do?

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.

What does a records coordinator do?

A records coordinator takes responsibility for doing administrative and clerical work. Records coordinators maintain the filing system of the central records. They monitor, post, and process university forms for personnel and budgetary actions. It is their job to maintain an organized central filing system. They must know the requirements applicable to their organization. There are certain skills every records coordinator should acquire. Some of them are skills in procurement management, organizational, negotiation, finance and accounting, and analytical.

Medical records technician vs records coordinator salary

Medical records technicians and records coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical Records TechnicianRecords Coordinator
Average salary$37,087$40,360
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $48,000Between $30,000 And $53,000
Highest paying CityLong Branch, NJTrenton, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyGuidehouseThe American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Best paying industryGovernmentEnergy

Differences between medical records technician and records coordinator education

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

Medical Records TechnicianRecords Coordinator
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorHealth Care AdministrationBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Medical records technician vs records coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between medical records technicians' and records coordinators' demographics:

Medical Records TechnicianRecords Coordinator
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 18.8% Female, 81.2%Male, 26.7% Female, 73.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.5% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between medical records technician and records coordinator duties and responsibilities

Medical records technician example responsibilities.

  • Enter all patient in-take into EMR, manage triage, scheduling, and maintain a sterile clinic setting.
  • Manage medical treatment authorizations and durable medical equipment (DME) requests and verify medical eligibility for all patients requesting treatment.
  • Perform examinations in the ER, main radiology area and surgery.
  • Order medical records for patients, medical staff, outside entities, and court subpoenas for certain dates of services.
  • Audited/Validate daily outpatient medical coding accounts involving emergency rooms, surgery, interventional radiology, radiology, and ancillary services.
  • Staff education on EMR and industry regulations.
  • Show more

Records coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Manage and maintain appropriate information in the electronic case file as required by federal, state, and HIPAA regulations.
  • Manage SharePoint site used for routing management approvals.
  • Assist DoD and contract personnel in digitizing intelligence onto secure severs for use by senior DoD agencies.
  • Maintain forms inventory in preparation for the EHR.
  • Forward records/documents as requested by FDA staff and outside vendors.
  • Perform software validation testing and QA testing for new CAPA system implementation.
  • Show more

Medical records technician vs records coordinator skills

Common medical records technician skills
  • Patients, 20%
  • Medical Terminology, 11%
  • HIPAA, 6%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Medical Facilities, 4%
Common records coordinator skills
  • Customer Service, 24%
  • Data Entry, 20%
  • Patients, 16%
  • HIPAA, 6%
  • Hard Copy, 3%
  • Subpoenas, 3%

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