Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Understanding written information and communicating ideas clearly in writing.
Using computers, software, digital systems, and technology to complete work and solve problems.
Paying close attention to accuracy, quality, instructions, and small but important details.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become a Medical Records Specialist Employers may prefer to hire medical records specialists who have acquired certification. Medical records specialists typically need a postsecondary certificate to enter the occupation, although some qualify with a high school diploma. Others might need an associate’s degree. Certification may be required or preferred.
Education
A high school diploma or equivalent and experience in a healthcare setting are enough to qualify for some positions, but others may require a postsecondary certificate or an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. High school students may benefit from taking classes in subjects such as biology, computer science, and anatomy. Community colleges and technical schools offer certificate and associate’s degree programs for medical records specialists. These programs typically include courses in medical terminology, health data requirements and standards, and classification and coding systems.
Licenses, Certifications & Registrations
Employers may prefer to hire medical records specialists who have certification, or they may expect applicants to earn certification shortly after being hired. Certifications usually require candidates to pass an exam and might require previous experience or education. Certificate, associate’s, or bachelor’s degree programs may help students to meet these requirements. Information on certifications is available from CareerOneStop. Advancement Medical records specialists may advance to become health information technologists or medical registrars or medical or health services managers after completing a higher certification program or earning a degree in health information technology. Requirements vary by facility.
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Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Employment of medical records specialists is projected to grow 8 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 14,000 openings for medical records specialists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment An increasing share of the population is entering older age groups, which typically require more medical services. In addition, there is a growing prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. As a result, more medical records specialists will be needed to translate patient information and services delivered into standardized codes to be used for insurance reimbursement and other purposes. However, the increase in adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions that make the medical coding process more efficient may affect the demand for these workers. Medical Records Specialists Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Medical records specialists 8% Health technologists and technicians 7% Total, all occupations 3% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Medical Records Specialists Do
Medical records specialists compile, process, and maintain patient files. They also may classify and enter patients’ medical information into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system.
Duties
Medical records specialists typically do the following:
- Review patients’ records for timeliness, completeness, and accuracy
- Use classification systems to assign clinical codes for patients’ diagnoses, procedures, medical services, and related information
- Maintain and retrieve records for insurance reimbursement and data analysis
- Electronically record data for collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and reporting
- Ensure confidentiality of patients’ records
Medical records specialists have a variety of data entry and recordkeeping tasks. They may gather patients’ medical histories, symptoms, test results, treatments, and other health information and enter the details into electronic health records (EHR) systems. Some workers categorize medical information for purposes such as insurance reimbursement and providing data to clinicians.
When handling medical records, these workers follow administrative, ethical, and legal requirements for safeguarding patient privacy. Medical records specialists also may serve as gatekeepers for access to patient files. They ensure access only to authorized people and retrieve, scan, and transmit files according to established protocols.
Medical coders assign the diagnosis and procedure codes for patient care, population health statistics, and billing purposes. For example, they might review patient information for preexisting conditions, such as diabetes, to ensure proper coding of patient data. They also work as the liaison between healthcare providers and billing offices.
Although medical records specialists do not provide direct patient care, they work regularly with registered nurses and other healthcare workers. They meet with these workers to clarify diagnoses or to get additional information.
For information about other workers who deal with healthcare records, see the profile for health information technologists and medical registrars.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Medical records specialists held about 200,700 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of medical records specialists were as follows:
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | 28% |
| Offices of physicians | 18 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 10 |
| Administrative and support services | 8 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 7 |
Medical records specialists typically work at a computer.
Work Schedules
Most medical records specialists work full time. In healthcare facilities that are always open, such as hospitals, specialists may work shifts, including nights or weekends.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Analytical skills. Medical records specialists must interpret medical documentation to assess diagnoses, which they then code into a patient’s medical record. Detail oriented. Medical records specialists must be precise about verifying and coding patient information. Integrity. Medical records specialists must exercise discretion and act ethically when working with patient data to protect patient confidentiality, as required by law. Interpersonal skills. Medical records specialists need to discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements with physicians, finance personnel, and other workers involved in patient care and recordkeeping.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about medical records specialists by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.