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What does a medical records technician do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
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.

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Medical records technician responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical records technician resumes:

  • 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.
  • Perform record audits on over 1,500 USAF medical records.
  • Code with ICD-9 and CPT-4 of inpatient and outpatient records
  • Interpret medical reports to apply appropriate ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes.
  • Attend notary sessions to sign and date approve documents previous review.
  • Assist with QA and paper medical file pulling for the MedSurg dept.
  • Perform EKG's and EEG's on both impatient and outpatient procedures.
  • Scan, index, and QA all types of medical records into patient accounts.
  • Train and assist couriers in picking up medical records, verifying records with surgery schedules.
  • Used EMR: PowerChart, NextGen and Cerner systems to facilitate work load and other processes.

Medical records technician skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Medical Records Technicians are proficient in Patients, Medical Terminology, and HIPAA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Integrity, Analytical skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Medical Records Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 20%

    Managed medical treatment authorizations and durable medical equipment (DME) requests and verified medical eligibility for all patients requesting treatment.

  • Medical Terminology, 11%

    Complete understanding of disease processes, anatomy and physiology, and medical terminology required to assign accurate numerical and alphanumeric codes.

  • HIPAA, 6%

    Assisted Psychiatric Emergency Services with time-sensitive and confidential health information while adhering to governmental HIPAA rules and regulations.

  • Patient Care, 5%

    Reconcile lab results and other unmatched electronic medical or dental care information and ensure information is moved into patient care records.

  • Customer Service, 5%

    Answered phones and provided customer service, scanned and/or imported medical documents and electronically filed in patients chart.

  • Medical Facilities, 4%

    Informed patients, insurance companies, social services and other medical facilities on policies associated with releasing medical information.

Common skills that a medical records technician uses to do their job include "patients," "medical terminology," and "hipaa." You can find details on the most important medical records technician responsibilities below.

Integrity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a medical records technician to have is integrity. Their role and responsibilities require that "health information technicians work with patient data that are required, by law, to be kept confidential." Medical records technicians often use integrity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "trusted as a medical records technician for a large medical practice, while upholding government required hippa privacy laws. "

Analytical skills. Another essential skill to perform medical records technician duties is analytical skills. Medical records technicians responsibilities require that "health information technicians must understand and follow medical records and diagnoses, and then decide how best to code them in a patient’s medical records." Medical records technicians also use analytical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide data entry by entering patient and contributor demographic information into the pathology information management system, under a production-oriented environment. "

Detail oriented. This is an important skill for medical records technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how medical records technician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "health information technicians must be accurate when recording and coding patient information." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a medical records technician: "detail oriented, data entry, customer service and able to work independently and with no supervision. ".

Interpersonal skills. A big part of what medical records technicians do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to medical records technician responsibilities because "health information technicians need to be able to discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements with other professionals such as physicians and finance personnel." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical medical records technician tasks: "skilled at setting work priorities and meeting deadlines.customer service, clerical skills and interpersonal skills within the healthcare industry. "

Technical skills. Another crucial skill for a medical records technician to carry out their responsibilities is "technical skills." A big part of what medical records technicians relies on this skill, since "health information technicians must use coding and classification software and the electronic health record (ehr) system that their healthcare organization or physician practice has adopted." How this skill relates to medical records technician duties can be seen in an example from a medical records technician resume snippet: "prepare and oversee the timely release of documentations such as technical reports, charts and other documents that includes medical terminology. "

Most common medical records technician skills

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Compare different medical records technicians

Medical records technician vs. Information management specialist

An information management specialist is responsible for maintaining the security benchmark of all databases across the organization to support business functions and client requirements. Information management specialists sort and file data on the network systems and pull up reports from the storage database. They also analyze project management plans and utilize data tools to identify solutions and collect critical information. An information management specialist handles data management system troubleshooting and provide resolution reports to avoid downtime reoccurrence.

The annual salary of information management specialists is $17,428 higher than the average salary of medical records technicians.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between medical records technicians and information management specialists are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, medical terminology, and hipaa.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a medical records technician are more likely to require skills like "medical facilities," "excellent interpersonal," "hcpcs," and "provides technical support." On the other hand, a job as an information management specialist requires skills like "cycle management," "phone calls," "windows," and "transcription." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Information management specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $66,785. On the other hand, medical records technicians are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $40,715.On average, information management specialists reach higher levels of education than medical records technicians. Information management specialists are 6.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Medical records technician vs. Health care administrator

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.

Health care administrator positions earn higher pay than medical records technician roles. They earn a $31,100 higher salary than medical records technicians per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Medical records technicians and health care administrators both require similar skills like "patients," "hipaa," and "patient care" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that medical records technician responsibilities requires skills like "medical terminology," "customer service," "medical facilities," and "medical charts." But a health care administrator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "health care services," "home health," "mental health," and "vital signs."

On average, health care administrators earn a higher salary than medical records technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, health care administrators earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $71,258. Whereas medical records technicians have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $40,715.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Health care administrators tend to reach higher levels of education than medical records technicians. In fact, they're 6.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Medical records technician vs. Release of information specialist

A release of information specialist is primarily in charge of retrieving and releasing data to qualified recipients while adhering to the guidelines and confidentiality protocols that aim to protect sensitive information. Although the extent of their responsibilities usually depends on their industry or company of employment, it usually includes maintaining records of procedures and transactions, preparing and processing documents, organizing files, producing progress reports to managers, and keeping an eye out for any inconsistencies, resolving them promptly and efficiently.

An average release of information specialist eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of medical records technicians. The difference in salaries amounts to releases of information specialist earning a $8,804 higher average salary than medical records technicians.Using the responsibilities included on medical records technicians and releases of information specialist resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "medical terminology," and "hipaa.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a medical records technician is likely to be skilled in "cpt," "excellent interpersonal," "hcpcs," and "provides technical support," while a typical release of information specialist is skilled in "phone calls," "quality checks," "federal regulations," and "quality products."

Releases of information specialist earn the highest salary when working in the insurance industry, where they receive an average salary of $51,336. Comparatively, medical records technicians have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $40,715.When it comes to education, releases of information specialist tend to earn similar degree levels compared to medical records technicians. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Medical records technician vs. Reimbursement specialist

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.

Reimbursement specialists typically earn higher pay than medical records technicians. On average, reimbursement specialists earn a $1,186 higher salary per year.While both medical records technicians and reimbursement specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, medical terminology, and hipaa, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between medical records technicians and reimbursement specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a medical records technician might have more use for skills like "patient care," "medical facilities," "medical charts," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of reimbursement specialists require skills like "appeals," "medicare," "patient accounts," and "home health. "

Reimbursement specialists enjoy the best pay in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $41,366. For comparison, medical records technicians earn the highest salary in the government industry.The average resume of reimbursement specialists showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to medical records technicians. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.

Types of medical records technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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