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Medical Records Specialists

Medical Records Specialists is the O*NET name for people who compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. The skills rated most useful are reading comprehension, critical thinking, and active listening. You may also need to protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. With a code of CIS, this is mostly a job for people drawn to orderly work with data, records and clear procedures. Investigative interests also help, rated 4.3 out of 7. Getting in usually takes one or two years of vocational training, an apprenticeship or an associate’s degree, a level O*NET calls medium preparation. If you want orderly work with data, records and clear procedures, keep it on your list. If you need creative work with room for original expression, it may feel thin.

What they do

Compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. Classify medical and healthcare concepts, including diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment, into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system. Includes medical coders.

Main tasks

  • Protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
  • Review records for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with regulations.
  • Scan patients' health records into electronic formats.
  • Release information to persons or agencies according to regulations.
  • Enter data, such as demographic characteristics, history and extent of disease, diagnostic procedures, or treatment into computer.
  • Maintain or operate a variety of health record indexes or storage and retrieval systems to collect, classify, store, or analyze information.

Skills

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Time Management
  • Speaking

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
  • You are willing to put in a year or two of focused training.
  • You are comfortable relying on reading comprehension and critical thinking.

May not suit you if

  • You get restless with routine, records and exact procedures.
  • You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You need to start within a few months, with no training period.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code CIS takes the three highest, and Conventional comes first here.

Preparation

Medium preparation. Expect vocational school, an apprenticeship, related experience or an associate’s degree, usually one or two years in total.

Also called

  • Coder
  • Health Information Clerk
  • Health Information Specialist
  • Health Information Technician (Health Information Tech)
  • Health Records Specialist

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.