High School

If you are contemplating a career in medical records, you should take as many high school English classes as possible, because technicians need both written and verbal communication skills to prepare reports and communicate with other health care personnel. Basic math or business math is very desirable because statistical skills are important in some job functions. Biology and health courses will help familiarize you with the terminology that medical record technicians use. Other courses in science, computer training, typing, and office procedures are also helpful.

Postsecondary Training

Most employers prefer to hire medical record technicians who have completed an associate's degree program accredited by the American Medical Association's Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). There are more than 200 of these accredited programs available throughout the United States, mostly offered in junior and community colleges. They usually include classroom instruction in such subjects as anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, medical record science, word processing, medical aspects of recordkeeping, statistics, computers in health care, personnel supervision, business management, English, and office skills.

In addition to classroom instruction, the student is given supervised clinical experience in the medical records departments of local health care facilities. This provides students with practical experience in performing many of the functions learned in the classroom and the opportunity to interact with health care professionals.

Certification

The American Health Information Management Association approves certificate programs in medical coding. Visit https://www.ahima.org for more information about certifcation. Many coders have some postsecondary training, including a bachelor's degree or higher, according to a member survey from the AAPC. 

Other Education or Training

The American Health Information Management Association offers workshops, webinars, and seminars on topics such as clinical documentation integrity, computer-assisted coding, electronic health records best practices, emerging technologies, informatics, and privacy and security issues. The AAPC, Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity, Board of Medical Specialty Coding and Compliance, National Cancer Registrars Association, Practice Management Institute, and the Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists also provide continuing education opportunities. Contact these organizations for more information.

Certification or Licensing

Medical record technicians who have completed an accredited training program are eligible to take a national qualifying examination to earn the credential of registered health information technician (RHIT). Most health care institutions prefer to hire individuals with an RHIT credential as it signifies that they have met the standards established by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) as the mark of a qualified health professional. AHIMA also offers certification to medical coders, health information administrators, and other health information professionals. Medical record technicians may also receive coding credentials from the AAPC, Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity, Board of Medical Specialty Coding and Compliance, National Cancer Registrars Association, Practice Management Institute, and the Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists.

Aspiring medical record technicians should obtain supervised clinical experience in the medical records departments of health care providers during college.

Medical records are extremely detailed and precise. Sloppy work could have serious consequences in terms of payment to the hospital or physician, validity of the patient records for later use, and validity of research based on data from medical records. Therefore, a prospective technician must have the capacity to do consistently reliable and accurate routine work. Records must be completed and maintained with care and attention to detail. You may be the only person who checks the entire record, and you must understand the responsibility that accompanies this task.

You must be able to work rapidly as well as accurately. In many medical record departments, the workload is very heavy, and you must be well organized and efficient in order to stay on top of the job. You must be able to complete your work accurately, in spite of interruptions, such as phone calls and requests for assistance. You also need to be discreet, as you will deal with records that are private and sometimes sensitive.

Computer skills also are essential, and some experience in transcribing dictated reports may be useful.