Health Information Services

Facility Approx Wage Average/month

Federal Executive Branch $ 42,760 $ 3,563
General medical and surgical hospitals $ 32,600 $ 2,717
Nursing care facilities $ 30,660 $ 2,555
Outpatient care centers $ 29,160 $ 2,430
Offices of physicians $ 26,210 $ 2,184

May 2008

$60,000
Approx Wage

$40,000

$20,000

$-
Federal General Nursing Outpatient Offices of
Executive medical care care physicians
Branch and surgical facilities centers
hospitals
Facility

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocoS103.htm
 Health Information Services
Facility Approx Wage Average/month
Federal Executive Branch 42760 =AVERAGE(B4/12)
General medical and surgical hospitals 32600 =AVERAGE(B5/12)
Nursing care facilities 30660 =AVERAGE(B6/12)
Outpatient care centers 29160 =AVERAGE(B7/12)
Offices of physicians 26210 =AVERAGE(B8/12)

May 2008

$60,000
Approx Wage

$40,000

$20,000

$-
Federal General Nursing care Outpatient Offices of
Executive medical and facilities care centers physicians
Branch surgical
hospitals
Facility

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocoS103.htm
CIS 101 RESEARCH REPORT

Prepared for
David Kampmann

Prepared by
Kirstin Kuchta
Health Information Technician

April 21, 2010

 Every person seeks medical personnel at some point in their lives. Each and every person

also has a detailed record, just for them. These records record every interaction between the

patient and all health care professionals they come into contact with; such as nurses and doctors.

Everything from prescriptions, treatment plans, test results, diagnoses, and lists of symptoms to

the patients’ complete medical history are recorded here. The sole purpose of medical records

and health information technicians is to manage patient records and make sure that the databases

are current and correct.

From the beginning, technicians are completely responsible for patient records.

Technicians make sure all proper forms are completed and filled out accurately, followed by a

signature to finish the process. The next task of a technician is to then enter all the information

into the computer database, and frequently check with physicians and health care providers to

ensure that all information is up-to-date and complete.

The responsibilities of medical records and health information technicians depend largely

on the size of the institution they are working for. Smaller institutions may have only one

technician who is experienced to supervise their entire records department. However, medium to

large sized institutions employ several technicians, where each specializes in a certain

department. Some parts of this job may require you to work at home transcribing documents.

Your physician might allow you to do the transcribing at work; nonetheless, transcribing will

play a big role in the health information technician field.

In the medical field, this is one of the only positions not requiring hands-on direct work

with the patients. The hours of a technician can vary. For the most part, a typical 40-hour week

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Kirstin Kuchta
can be expected. For those working in 24 hour institutions, technicians may work day, evening,

and overnight shifts. Some overtime may be required.

The working conditions of a medical records and health information technician is

typically rather comfortable, being in an office setting. However, as with any job, there are a

few risks. Possible problems include eye damage and carpal tunnel syndrome. Both are due to

working in front of a computer for extended periods of time.

Health information technicians held about 172,500 jobs in 2008, about 39% of them

being in hospitals. Technicians may work for different health care providers. Physician’s offices,

nursing home facilities, outpatient care centers, and home healthcare services all employ health

information technicians. Technicians are able to be employed outside of health care facilities,

such as in Federal Government agencies.

There will always be a need for medical records and health information technicians.

Workers can look forward to good job prospects. Many positions are opening up, and records

will always need to be kept as more people receive care.

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Kirstin Kuchta
 Works Cited

http://www.careeroverview.com/medical-records-health-information-technician-careers.html

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocoS103.htm

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Kirstin Kuchta