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Scanning technician vs health information specialist

The differences between scanning technicians 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 scanning technician and a health information specialist. Additionally, a scanning technician has an average salary of $34,937, which is higher than the $33,343 average annual salary of a health information specialist.

The top three skills for a scanning technician include data entry, QC and image quality. The most important skills for a health information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and medical terminology.

Scanning technician vs health information specialist overview

Scanning TechnicianHealth Information Specialist
Yearly salary$34,937$33,343
Hourly rate$16.80$16.03
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs24,954135,448
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

Scanning technician vs health information specialist salary

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

Scanning TechnicianHealth Information Specialist
Average salary$34,937$33,343
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $49,000Between $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 scanning technician and health information specialist education

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

Scanning TechnicianHealth Information Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorBusinessHealth Care Administration
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Southern California

Scanning technician vs health information specialist demographics

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

Scanning TechnicianHealth Information Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 40.7% Female, 59.3%Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.2% 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between scanning technician and health information specialist duties and responsibilities

Scanning technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage medical treatment authorizations and durable medical equipment (DME) requests and verify medical eligibility for all patients requesting treatment.
  • Keep in compliance with HIPPA regulations.
  • Record daily QA data for QC efficiency.
  • Help develop the company's QA protocol.
  • Create ECG reports accordance with clinic specific instructions.
  • Put in overtime if need for Ekgs also.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Scanning technician vs health information specialist skills

Common scanning technician skills
  • Data Entry, 20%
  • QC, 10%
  • Image Quality, 6%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Kofax, 6%
  • Electronic Format, 5%
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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