Job Description – Medical Records Coordinator

Healthcare staff are not only a vital part of our society but their numbers are also growing fast. Many members of critical healthcare staff are behind-the-scenes professionals who deal with information systems.  

The coordinators of medical records provide a vital role within the healthcare system. Their work can have an important effect on how well doctors can treat their patients. 

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Medical records coordinators help keep health background data up-to-date, and even help in the large-scale collection of data for medical study. If you want to know more about this career, read on.  

Job Description - Medical Records Coordinator
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Job Description: Overview

A coordinator of medical records works in the field of medical records and information management for health. A medical record coordinator may be known as a medical record manager or a technician of medical records. 

These practitioners collect, process, and hold medical records by whatever name. While this may sound like straightforward administrative work, medical record coordinators need a nuanced understanding of numerous areas.

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Knowledge about medical, financial, ethical, legal, and regulatory standards within the healthcare system is necessary. Coordinators of medical records manage extremely confidential information.

By properly preserving these documents, it ensures that healthcare professionals and medical experts are presented with the most up-to-date and reliable information required to successfully manage particular patients and populations.

Duties and Responsibilities

The coordinators of medical records are responsible for security measures introduced to protect the privacy of patients. This also requires both software security and ensuring that all those with access to medical records have adequate practice. 

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The right to privacy when it comes to confidential medical details is constitutionally covered, and procedure violations are opening up significant fines for individuals and institutions. 

To maintain a right to privacy also protects patients in ways that are profoundly important and even life-saving. This influence is one of the vital aspects of the professional role of a Medical records coordinator.

Education Necessary

Coordinators of medical records are expected to hold a bachelor’s degree of at least four years before going on to that position. 

Many potential coordinators of medical records are seeking a major undergraduate degree in health information management, health care administration, health informatics, or information systems. 

It would be worthwhile to join a program approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Education in Information Management (CAHIIM). 

Complete your schedule with courses in the fields of medical law, ethics, patient confidentiality, statistics, coding, medical terms, pathophysiology, reimbursement for administration, and insurance.

Where Do They Work

Coordinators of medical records operate primarily in health care facilities such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, clinics, treatment centers, and nursing homes. 

A Medical Record Coordinator can be employed anywhere medical records are in use. These practitioners do not deal directly with patients but are a vital part of delivering healthcare services on the administrative side.

Expected Salary

The median annual wage for medical records coordinators and supervisors in the United States is $83,267, according to the job statistics on Salary.com. This could be equated with a $40 monthly hourly wage, or $1,601 a weekly salary. 

In addition to the base pay, coordinators of medical records typically get incentives, social security, health benefits, pensions, and time off for total annual compensation of $116,143 a year. 

If you just step into the position of coordinator of medical records, you’ll likely land about $61,337 in the bottom 10th percentile of earnings for an annual salary.

Where to Apply for a Job 

You can apply as a medical records coordinator through the following websites: 

 

Job Description - Medical Records Coordinator
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Conclusion

If you are interested in opportunities within the coordination of medical records, such as medical coding, you might need to get additional certifications in those areas. 

Overall, the coordinators of medical records are experts in the administration of computer systems that organize health information electronically accurately.