Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
If you like work with data then join the booming career as Medical records and Health Information Technicians. Medical records and health information technicians organize and evaluate these records for completeness and accuracy.
Technicians assemble patient's health information, making sure that patient’s initial medical charts are complete, all forms are completed and properly identified and authenticated, and all necessary information is in the computer. They regularly communicate with physicians and other health care professionals to clarify diagnoses or to obtain additional information.
These technicians regularly use computer programs to tabulate and analyze data to improve patient care, better control cost, provide documentation for use in legal actions, or use in research studies.
Role of Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
- Protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
- Process patient’s admission and discharge documents.
- Review records for completeness, accuracy and compliance with regulations.
- Compile and maintain patients' medical records to document condition and treatment and to provide data for research or cost control and care improvement efforts.
- Enter data, such as demographic characteristics, history and extent of disease, diagnostic procedures and treatment into computer.
- Release information to persons and agencies according to regulations.
- Plan, develop, maintain and operate a variety of health record indexes and storage and retrieval systems to collect, classify, store and analyze information.
- Manage the department and supervise clerical workers, directing and controlling activities of personnel in the medical records department.
- Transcribe medical reports.
- Identify, compile, abstract and code patient data, using standard classification systems.
- Chair medical records committees and resolve documentation issues.
Skills needed to be Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Managing own time and the time of others.
- Talking to others and convey information effectively.
- Communicate effectively in writing for the audience.
- Understand the implications of new information for problem solving and decision-making.
- Teaching others ‘how to do something’
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding ‘why they react as they do’.
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Some other Titles associated with Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
Clinical Data
Specialists; Health Information Analysts; Health Information Management
Specialists; Health Information Management Technicians; Health
Information Specialists; Health Information Systems Technicians; Medical
Record Technicians; Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT)