Public health technician vs health information technician

The differences between public health technicians and health information technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a public health technician and a health information technician. Additionally, a public health technician has an average salary of $35,972, which is higher than the $34,604 average annual salary of a health information technician.

The top three skills for a public health technician include food safety, patients and OSHA. The most important skills for a health information technician are patients, medical terminology, and customer service.

Public health technician vs health information technician overview

	Public Health Technician	Health Information Technician
Yearly salary	$35,972	$34,604
Hourly rate	$17.29	$16.64
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	64,368	120,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Public health technician vs health information technician salary

Public health technicians and health information technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Technician	Health Information Technician
Average salary	$35,972	$34,604
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $49,000	Between $26,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	-	Fairbanks, AK
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Stifel Financial
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between public health technician and health information technician education

There are a few differences between a public health technician and a health information technician in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Technician	Health Information Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Public Health	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Duke University	University of Southern California

Public health technician vs health information technician demographics

Here are the differences between public health technicians' and health information technicians' demographics:

	Public Health Technician	Health Information Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 34.2% Female, 65.8%	Male, 16.5% Female, 83.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 7.9% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between public health technician and health information technician duties and responsibilities

Public health technician example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and upload patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Manage and conduct wartime decontamination procedures for patients, medical personnel and facilities.
Assist with immunization clinics and screening at local schools.
Visit work sites to ensure OSHA requirements are complied with.
Safeguard all records to protect patient confidentiality per HIPAA standards.
Educate food handlers and supervisors on changes in FDA requirements and track required changes as necessary.

Health information technician example responsibilities.

Maximize ROI by effectively managing the microfiche process.
Assist patients and staff on filling out ROI's, and explain what exactly are being release or obtain.
Perform analysis and assembly of emergency room and surgery records and release records according to HIPAA regulations and confidentially.
Input data into a windows base in-house system.
Scan medical records in the EHR using the NEXTGEN software.
Attend advanced SQL coding workshops to optimize and refine database infrastructure.

Public health technician vs health information technician skills

Common public health technician skills

Food Safety, 11%
Patients, 8%
OSHA, 8%
Public Health, 7%
Hearing Conservation, 5%
Communicable Disease Prevention, 5%

Common health information technician skills

Patients, 20%
Medical Terminology, 13%
Customer Service, 9%
HIPAA, 9%
Patient Care, 7%
Data Entry, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Public Health Technician
Public Health Technician vs Health Information Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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