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Discover Your Healthcare Earning Potential
Georgia Price / AllHealthcare
Health Information Technician
Medical records and health information technicians are becoming evermore important as the popularity of electronic health records grows. An associate degree is most popular, but chances for advancement increase with education. Specifically useful is a career-targeted degree in medical records management or health information technology.
Experienced medical records and health information technicians usually advance in one of two ways—by specializing or by moving into a management position. Many senior technicians specialize in coding, in cancer registry, or in privacy and security. Most coding and registry skills are learned on the job. A number of schools offer certificate programs in coding or include coding as part of the associate degree program for health information technicians, although there are no formal degree programs in coding. In large medical records and health information departments, experienced technicians may advance to section supervisor, overseeing the work of the coding, correspondence, or discharge sections, for example. Senior technicians with RHIT credentials may become director or assistant director of a medical records and health information department in a small facility. However, in larger institutions, the director usually is an administrator with a bachelor’s degree in medical records and health information administration.
