Online Medical Records Courses and Schools

<h3 id="section---WhatYouNeedToKnow">What You Need to Know</h3> <p>You can enroll in a medical records specialist program or earn a medical records technician degree online to help prepare you for a job in the field. You will study a range of topics to give you the knowledge to work in this industry. </p> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><td><b>Courses</b></td><td> Medical terminology, medical coding and medical records management</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Certification</b></td><td> Agencies including the American Academy of Professional Coders, the Professional Association of Health Care Coding Specialists and Board of Medical Specialty Coding offer certification</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Online</b></td><td> Programs offered fully online</td></tr> </table><p><i>Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p> <h3 id="section---WhatProgramsAreAvailable">What Programs Are Available?</h3> <p>Few medical records specialist or medical records technician programs are available online. However, many other online programs, although not necessarily identified as medical records programs, can prepare you for work in this field. These programs include medical office management, medical transcription, and business administration with a concentration in medical billing and coding. Most online medical office management or office administration programs are available at the certificate or associate's degree level. </p> <h3 id="section---WhatOnlineCoursesAreAvailableInMedicalRecords">What Online Courses Are Available in Medical Records?</h3> <p>In addition to records management, courses in a medical records or medical office management/administration program will likely include: </p> <ul><li>Medical terminology </li><li>Coding and billing </li><li>Medical office software </li><li>Medical insurance filing and reimbursement procedures </li><li>Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) </li></ul><p>Additional courses in a business administration program might include computer science, statistics, data abstraction, database management and legal issues. In a medical transcription program, you'll learn how to write out many different types of medical records, including patient histories, radiology and autopsy reports, consultations, discharge summaries and physical examinations. </p> <h3 id="section---HowDoIChooseASchool">How Do I Choose a School?</h3> <p>If you are interested in becoming certified, you should look for programs that qualify and prepare you to take relevant certification exams. If you'd like to gain hands-on experience, look for a program that offers an externship. Externships may involve shadowing a professional through their normal day-to-day activities to get a feel for the kind of work you'll be doing. You may not receive any compensation or course credit for your externship, but you should gain experience and insight. Although medical records coursework can be completed online, your externship will need to be completed in-person at an off-campus location. </p> <p>Schools offering online or hybrid programs with medical records courses include: </p> <ul><li>Purdue Global </li><li>Ross College </li><li>Martinsburg College </li><li>Wayne Community College </li><li>Nash Community College </li><li>Wake Technical Community College </li></ul><h3 id="section---WhatJobsCanIDo">What Jobs Can I Do?</h3> <p>According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were approximately 180,570 jobs in health information technology and medical records in 2021 (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). Medical records positions can be found in hospitals, nursing homes, physicians' offices, home health care services and government agencies. The employment outlook for this field, as reported by the BLS, is quite good, with an expected increase of 7% from 2021-2031; this is higher than the national average for all occupations. The BLS also notes that the mean annual wage for medical records and health information technicians was $46,660 as of May 2021. The industry you choose can affect how much you make, with those employed in general medical and surgical hospitals making an average annual salary of $51,120 and individuals employed in physicians' offices earning the lowest mean annual wage of $40,540, also per the BLS. </p> <h3 id="section---DoINeedToBeCertified">Do I Need to Be Certified?</h3> <p>According to the BLS, although certification isn't required for medical records and health information technicians, most employers prefer to hire someone with credentials. Several organizations offer certification for this field, typically based on an exam and the completion of a qualifying program. Some coding certifications may also require a certain number of hours in the field. To maintain your credentials, continuing education and recertification is generally required. </p> <p>If you'd like to be a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), you'll seek your credentials through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). You'll need an associate's degree from a Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIM)-accredited program in addition to passing scores on a written test. </p> <p>You can also seek credentials from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), the Professional Association of Health Care Coding Specialists (PAHCS) or the Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC). Seeking specialty certification is one way to advance in the field of medical records and health information technology, as are relevant bachelor's and master's degree programs.</p>