About The Course

Ever wondered how your medical records are maintained behind the scenes of your doctor’s office? Medical records technicians (MRTs), sometimes known as health information techs, are the administrators who manage patient records in a hospital or clinic. 

Technology has helped health care organizations digitize their medical records, making them more efficient and accessible for the patient, the health care provider, and the insurance company. Medical records technicians play a critical role in ensuring patients’ confidentiality, as well as optimizing the systems of record-keeping so that the health care organizations can run smoothly.

Here’s a look inside the role of a medical records technician, and how to get started.

What is a Medical records technician

A medical records technician is responsible for the administrative tasks of maintaining patient records. Rather than dealing with diagnoses or treatments, these technicians are in charge of updating and organizing information, ensuring that records comply with health care system standards.

Medical Records Technician Tasks and Responsibilities

As a medical records technician, these are the typical tasks you’d be responsible for: 

• Recording patient records, including data entry of classification codes for symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, treatments, and prescriptions for insurance reimbursement and further data analysis

• Inputting this information into electronic databases and registries

• Ensuring these records are confidentially collected, stored, and analyzed, as well as easily transferred to other medical providers’ offices

Skills needed

To become a successful medical records technician, you’ll need both technical and workplace skills. Here are the most common skills required:

• Technical skills 
  • Familiarity with computer systems and software applications
  • Expert in Excel, Word, and code selection software, and medical record applications like Vista and CPRS

• Workplace skills
  • Detail-oriented, to be precise about coding and verifying patient information
  • Organized, to keep track of all the systems, records, and databases
  • Trustworthy, to maintain patients’ confidentiality
  • Analytical, to solve problems and analyze data 
  • Interpersonal skills, to discuss record-keeping with doctors, finance professionals, and health insurance providers

Types of technicians

In addition to medical records technicians, there are two other types of medical records technicians and health information specialists:

• Cancer registrars are like general technicians, except they focus on assigning classification codes to keep track of patients’ cancer or tumor diagnoses and treatments and maintain facility and national databases. They may also use this information data analysis to further research on cancer treatments and recovery.

• Medical coders are the individuals who assign codes for patient care, population health statistics, and billing. They go through the data to determine whether a patient has preexisting conditions or concurrent treatments, and will make sure they’re coded properly, acting as the liaison between health care providers, billing offices, and insurance companies.

• Duration / Eligibility
• 01 Year / 10th with Sci