Careers in Health Information Technology and Medical Records

Health information technology professionals collect, analyze and maintain critical medical information that health care providers need in order to deliver quality care to patients. The effective use of IT in the healthcare industry leads to many advantages:

• Improved security of individual patient information
• Reduced numbers of errors
• Increased cost savings to hospitals and other facilities providing medical care
• Helps health care providers more easily locate the information they need for diagnosis and treatment, enabling them to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time with patients

Professions like health information technician, medical coder, insurance claims analyst, and health information manager are increasingly valued in the health care industry, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting very good job prospects through 2020.

• Health information technicians, sometimes called medical records technicians or health information specialists, work with patient health information such as medical history, treatments and exam results. They relay information to doctors and other providers, and increasingly make use of electronic health records software to maintain and analyze data.
   
• Medical coders and Certified Professional Coders know the ins and outs of CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes. Each health care service, from office visits to x-rays, has a CPT code—and so do diagnoses, medical supplies and certain types of facilities. Medical coders record the appropriate codes on a patient's chart to ensure that a provider is accurately reimbursed for their services.
   
• Insurance claims analysts or claims examiners usually work for health insurance companies. They use general guidelines on diagnosis and treatment to determine whether the cost of a particular health-related claim is reasonable; they make sure claim applications are accurate and complete; and in the end, they authorize payment, deny claims or flag claims for further investigation.
   
• Health information managers oversee the maintenance and security of all of a facility's patient records, in compliance with federal health recordkeeping regulations. As a result, they must keep up with current legislative requirements in addition to hardware and software developments in the field of health information technology.

Many HIT careers require at least an associate's degree in health information technology or a specific area within the field, such as medical records management. Claims examiners and medical coders do not necessarily require a specific degree, though training is widely offered by community colleges and online schools.

An additional credential may also be required depending on your HIT career. These are usually offered by community colleges or specific professional organizations such as the American Health Information Management Association. Those interested in health information management need at least a bachelor's degree in health information technology or a related field like health services administration.