Medical Records Specialists
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.
About the profession
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.
How to Get Started
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Career Match Test →Explore the Career Path section to see progression from junior to senior
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Occupation on screen: Medical Records Specialists (O*NET 29-2072.00). Closed captions in English and Spanish. CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)
Personality Fit
Based on the Medical Records Specialists role, here are the RIASEC personality types that tend to thrive in this career. While these alignments are common, individual success depends on motivation, skill development, and finding the right work environment.
Social
Helping, teaching, working with people
Investigative
Research, analysis, problem-solving
Conventional
Organizing, detail-oriented, structured
Not sure if these types match you? Take the full RIASEC assessment (4 min) to discover your personality profile and see how it aligns with hundreds of careers.
Career Path
Your career progression roadmap with salary growth at each level
Career Ladder
Junior Medical Records Specialist → Practitioner Medical Records Specialist → Senior Practitioner Medical Records Specialist → Lead Medical Records Specialist
Where are you on this career path?
Click a level below to set your current position
Salary Growth
4
Levels
$78K
Top Salary
8+
Years
Learning Path
Skills you need to develop and courses to get there
🚀
Set your current level first
Go to the Career Path tab and select your current level to see your personalized learning plan.
Go to Career PathCareer levels
Timeline: 0-2 | Entry Level Base: $35,080 - $45,763/year With equity/bonuses: $38,588 - $54,916 Top markets (SF/NYC): $40,342 - $54,916 Execute core tasks using EHR Documentation…
Skills used in this career
Click any skill to see how to learn it and what salary boost it gives
Day in Life
Junior vs Senior, daily schedule breakdown
9am, Scan patients' health records into electronic formats. 10am, Identify, compile, abstract, and code patient data, using standard classification systems.
Income Dynamics
Conservative and aggressive scenarios for 10–15 years
Year 1: Entry level $24,556 - $41,187 Year 2-3: Junior level $45,763 - $53,623 Year 4-6: Mid level $53,623 - $58,138 Year 7-10: Senior level $58,138 - $70,484 Year 10+:…
Is this for me?
15 questions, answer honestly
You find the craft of a Medical Records Specialist genuinely interesting, not just a paycheck You enjoy working with EHR Documentation and Medical Charting and Medical Terminology…
💰 Salary Range
BLS OEWS, May 2023Half of U.S. workers in this occupation earn more than this, half earn less.
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Related Reading
Related Holland / RIASEC Types