Clinical coder to medical records manager
A clinical coder already meets 39% of what the medical records manager role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.3/ 100
1 How much of what a medical records manager is expected to do is already part of a clinical coder’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the medical records manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A medical records manager role treats 13 of its required skills as things a clinical coder already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- archive healthcare users' records
- clinical coding
- collect statistics on medical records
- communicate in healthcare
- document management
- follow clinical guidelines
What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A medical records manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a clinical coder background worth leading with.
- already held collect statistics on medical records information skills
- already held clinical coding health and welfare
- already held review patient's medical data information skills
- already held perform clinical coding procedures information skills
- already held document management social sciences, journalism and information
- already held use electronic health records management system working with computers
All 20 carried skills, including the 13 the medical records manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 38 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage digital archives required
- still to learn participate in medical records' auditing activities required
- still to learn undertake clinical audit required
- still to learn manage information in health care required
- still to learn oversee record management required
- optional, not held maintain treatment records optional
- optional, not held perform records management optional
- optional, not held transfer medical information optional
- optional, not held monitor regulations in social services optional
- optional, not held process data optional
- optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
- optional, not held record treated patient's information optional
- still to learn healthcare administration required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn manage healthcare staff required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held risk management optional
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn recruit employees required
- still to learn supervise staff required
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held supervise daily information operations optional
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held advise on medical records optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held manage workflow processes optional
- still to learn data storage required
- still to learn database required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- optional, not held answer patients' questions optional
- optional, not held formulate a treatment plan optional
- optional, not held meet the requirements of social security reimbursement bodies optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a medical records manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 data storage study this
- 02 healthcare administration study this
- 03 manage digital archives practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held archive healthcare users' records skill
- already held clinical coding knowledge
- already held collect statistics on medical records skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held document management knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held health records management knowledge
- already held identify patients' medical records skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held perform clinical coding procedures skill
- already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
- already held use electronic health records management system skill
- already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
- already held health care system knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held review patient's medical data skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn use e-health and mobile health technologies required
- optional, not held perform backups optional
- optional, not held patient record storage optional
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on medical records optional
- optional, not held answer patients' questions optional
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held formulate a treatment plan optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held maintain treatment records optional
- optional, not held meet the requirements of social security reimbursement bodies optional
- optional, not held patient record storage optional
- optional, not held perform backups optional
- optional, not held perform records management optional
- optional, not held transfer medical information optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage workflow processes optional
- optional, not held monitor regulations in social services optional
- optional, not held process data optional
- optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
- optional, not held record treated patient's information optional
- optional, not held risk management optional
- optional, not held supervise daily information operations optional
3 held skills the medical records manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role healthcare analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn data storage required
- still to learn healthcare administration required
- still to learn database required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn manage healthcare staff required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held patient record storage optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held risk management optional
Common questions about this move
Can a clinical coder become a medical records manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A clinical coder already covers 39% of what a medical records manager is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 13 of which the medical records manager role treats as required.
What skills does a clinical coder need to become a medical records manager?
17 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is data storage.
How hard is the move from clinical coder to medical records manager?
Its learning distance is 69.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.