Medical Training for Health

Archive for the ‘Health Care Technician’ Category

Health technicians, often referred to as medical transcriptionists or health information technicians, maintain and organize patient medical records for insurance billing and patient history tracking.

Educational Requirements
1. General educational requirements include coursework in medical terminology, anatomy, health data coding, as well as health insurance and legal standards of medical records.

Responsibilities
2. Maintaining and organizing patient medical records includes receiving and inputting patient medical information into computer systems for medical history tracking and insurance billing purposes.

Work Environment
3. Working in a hospital, health clinic or private practice, these professionals may also handle additional administrative duties such as answering phones, scheduling and greeting patients.

Occupational Outlook
4. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects these occupations to grow 18 percent between 2006 and 2016, due to recent federal legislation requiring electronic medical record keeping, as well as continuing analysis of medical treatments by health insurance companies.

Compensation
5. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports an average annual salary of $28,030 for these occupations.

The field of health information technology and medical records was projected to grow 20 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This increase in job opportunities has spiked an interested in many people to seek training in this field.

Function
1. Health information technicians serve as clerical professionals in the health care field. They perform duties such as medical billing, updating and filing medical records, communicating with physicians, nurses and patients, as well as using computer software to maintain health information databases.

Features
2. Medical records and health information technician training consists of several different areas of study. Examples of courses include computer usage, anatomy, medical terminology, medical billing and coding and methods of health care reimbursement.

Considerations
3. Though it is possible to get a career in this field with just a high school diploma, most employers will want an applicant to have at least an associate degree in health information technology or be a registered health information technician.

Potential
4. After completing training in the field of health information technology and medical records, technicians can seek employment in a variety of health care settings, such as hospitals, outpatient physician practices, clinics, nursing homes and government agencies.

Health care technicians perform important supportive tasks in just about every facet of medical care. Without these workers, doctors, dentists and other health care providers would have a difficult if not impossible job. It can be a very rewarding career for for those who want to help others.

And, given the proper training and advancement, it can also be financially rewarding. The education and training for this field is demanding, but given the advancing age of the general population, the opportunities are great

Significance
1. The health care field continues to be one of the very fastest growing career areas. Besides doctors and dentists, heavy needs for support personnel are forecast in the coming years.

Health care technician is one career path with open opportunities. The technicians may work in a number of different health areas with different roles, including health information technicians, medical laboratory technicians, dental technicians, ophthalmic technicians and medical records technicians.

Function
2. Medical records and health information technicians keep track of the medical records that are generated every time a patient receives some form of medical care. They use computers to analyze patient data and code medical information in order to file insurance claims.

Medical laboratory technicians, also known as medical technologists, perform various tests in clinical laboratories on samples of body fluids to identify diseases or other body conditions. Ophthalmic health care technicians may work either in clinics, hospitals or directly for eye doctors who have private practices. They often serve as the first line of contact with patients and may perform basic refraction tests of vision. Read the rest of this entry »