Medical records technician vs reimbursement specialist

The differences between medical records technicians and reimbursement 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 technician and a reimbursement specialist. Additionally, a reimbursement specialist has an average salary of $38,273, 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 reimbursement specialist are patients, customer service, and appeals.

Medical records technician vs reimbursement specialist overview

	Medical Records Technician	Reimbursement Specialist
Yearly salary	$37,087	$38,273
Hourly rate	$17.83	$18.40
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	67,660	32,292
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

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 reimbursement specialist do?

A reimbursement specialist is responsible for analyzing insurance documents, processing reimbursement claims, and releasing accurate billing statements for insurance claims. Reimbursement specialists must have excellent analytical skills, especially on performing clerical tasks to evaluate insurance cases, investigate cases, and update the account information of the clients on the database. They should also have impeccable communication skills and understanding of the insurance processes to be able to coordinate with the clients, explaining the procedures of their claims accurately, and coordinate with the insurance management to improve the claims processes.

Medical records technician vs reimbursement specialist salary

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

	Medical Records Technician	Reimbursement Specialist
Average salary	$37,087	$38,273
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $48,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Long Branch, NJ	Lynchburg, VA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Virginia
Best paying company	Guidehouse	Novartis
Best paying industry	Government	Pharmaceutical

Differences between medical records technician and reimbursement specialist education

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

	Medical Records Technician	Reimbursement Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Medical records technician vs reimbursement specialist demographics

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

	Medical Records Technician	Reimbursement Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2%	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%
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, 9.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between medical records technician and reimbursement specialist 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.

Reimbursement specialist example responsibilities.

Manage the EDI clearinghouse rejections.
Process department payroll, order supplies, and manage petty-cash funds.
Manage use of various systems, such as MEDITECH, Cerner, WebNow, and yield-base follow-up tool.
Manage cases by aggressively directing the litigation process.
Negotiate fee structure for manage care contracts on acute and rehabilitation facilities.
Research medical coding ICD-9, ICD-10, HCPCS and CPT-4 to let client know the outcome of medical claim.

Medical records technician vs reimbursement specialist skills

Common medical records technician skills

Patients, 20%
Medical Terminology, 11%
HIPAA, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Medical Facilities, 4%

Common reimbursement specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 9%
Appeals, 6%
CPT, 5%
Medicare, 4%
Medicaid, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Records Technician
Medical Records Technician vs Reimbursement Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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