Health information managers (Registered Record Administrator, Accredited Record
Technician, and Certified Coding Specialist) are professionals who secure, analyze and
integrate a variety of health care and financial data used to evaluate patient care, plan
health care activities and help providers.
Registered record administrators (RRA):
• interact with medical, financial and administrative staff to interpret
data for patient care, research, statistical reporting and planning.
• protect the privacy of patients’ health information.
Accredited record technicians (ART):
• examine medical records for accuracy.
• report patient data for reimbursement.
• create disease registries for researchers.
Certified coding specialists (CCS):
• assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure found in a patient’s record.
• report codes to insurance companies to pay for a patient’s medical expenses.
Health information personnel may work in hospitals, clinics, HMOs, insurance
companies, law firms, consulting firms, physician offices, nursing homes, health
data organizations and other settings.
Average Salary Range
$30,000 – $55,000
Educational Requirements
Students interested in health information careers should take high school courses in business, computer science, physiology, math, biology, English and chemistry.Registered record administrators must earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college program and pass a certification exam. Accredited record technicians must complete
an associate’s degree from an accredited college program or through the American Health Information Management Association’s Independent Study Program and by passing a credentialing exam. Certified coding specialists must have a high school diploma, on-the-job training, a coding education from seminars or college classes and pass a certification exam
Professional Associations
American Health Information Management
Association
919 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60611-1683
(312) 787-2672 or www.ahima.org
