Patient information coordinator vs health information specialist

The differences between patient information coordinators and health information 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 patient information coordinator and a health information specialist. Additionally, a patient information coordinator has an average salary of $43,908, which is higher than the $33,343 average annual salary of a health information specialist.

The top three skills for a patient information coordinator include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a health information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and medical terminology.

Patient information coordinator vs health information specialist overview

	Patient Information Coordinator	Health Information Specialist
Yearly salary	$43,908	$33,343
Hourly rate	$21.11	$16.03
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	129,576	135,448
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Patient information coordinator vs health information specialist salary

Patient information coordinators and health information specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Information Coordinator	Health Information Specialist
Average salary	$43,908	$33,343
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $55,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	University of California
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between patient information coordinator and health information specialist education

There are a few differences between a patient information coordinator and a health information specialist in terms of educational background:

	Patient Information Coordinator	Health Information Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Southern California

Patient information coordinator vs health information specialist demographics

Here are the differences between patient information coordinators' and health information specialists' demographics:

	Patient Information Coordinator	Health Information Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8%	Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between patient information coordinator and health information specialist duties and responsibilities

Patient information coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage and track various holds on inventory: ship on quarantine; FDA hold; and quality hold.
Verify patient insurance eligibility, and perform medical coding under ICD-9 and CPT code formats.
Obtain and update demographic, emergency contact and insurance information, including referrals/authorizations on all patients as needed.
Schedule radiology procedures using IMAGECAST.
Enter ICD-9 and CPT-code information for billing purposes.
Verify medical claims are appropriately code utilizing ICD-9 coding and make corrections, as necessary.

Health information specialist example responsibilities.

Manage chart completion (ICD-9-CM and CPT coding/abstracting), chart assembly and analysis, patient admission and patient information privacy/security.
Review and audit medical records for correct DRG and APC assignment.
Certify requests for subpoenas, court orders, legal cases and training of employees.
Utilize Cerner and Centricity systems to assist in ancillary services.
Abstract medical records with ICD9-CM, CPT and DRG coding.
Scan documentation via DCS into HPF to be index under ROI.

Patient information coordinator vs health information specialist skills

Common patient information coordinator skills

Patients, 28%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 12%
Patient Flow, 11%
Office Equipment, 9%
Medical Billing, 7%

Common health information specialist skills

Patients, 26%
HIPAA, 11%
Medical Terminology, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Data Entry, 4%
Office Equipment, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Patient Information Coordinator
Patient Information Coordinator vs Health Information Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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