Front line medical receptionist to medical records clerk
A front line medical receptionist already meets 54% of what the medical records clerk role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.6/ 100
1 How much of what a medical records clerk is expected to do is already part of a front line medical receptionist’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 clerk role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A medical records clerk role treats 17 of its required skills as things a front line medical receptionist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- administrative tasks in a medical environment
- collect healthcare user's general data
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
- follow clinical guidelines
- health care legislation
What stands in the way is 13 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 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A medical records clerk role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a front line medical receptionist background worth leading with.
- already held type on electronic devices information skills
- already held use electronic health records management system working with computers
- already held administrative tasks in a medical environment business, administration and law
- already held identify patients' medical records management skills
- already held medical studies health and welfare
- already held answer patients' questions assisting and caring
All 23 carried skills, including the 17 the medical records clerk role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 9 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 deliver case notes required
- still to learn archive healthcare users' records required
- still to learn collect statistics on medical records required
- still to learn manage digital archives required
- still to learn perform clinical coding procedures required
- still to learn process data required
- optional, not held participate in medical records' auditing activities optional
- optional, not held review patient's medical data optional
- optional, not held transfer medical information optional
- still to learn data storage required
- still to learn database required
- still to learn display medical problems required
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- still to learn perform backups required
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held use databases optional
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- optional, not held handle paperwork optional
- still to learn clinical coding required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a medical records clerk role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 deliver case notes practise this
- 02 archive healthcare users' records practise this
- 03 clinical coding study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held administrative tasks in a medical environment knowledge
- already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held health care system knowledge
- already held health records management knowledge
- already held identify patients' medical records skill
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
- already held type on electronic devices skill
- already held use electronic health records management system skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held answer patients' questions skill
- already held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held medical studies knowledge
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn document management required
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held participate in medical records' auditing activities optional
- optional, not held review patient's medical data optional
- optional, not held transfer medical information optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held handle paperwork optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- optional, not held use databases optional
10 held skills the medical records clerk role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer appointments skill
- not needed by the target role apply numeracy skills skill
- not needed by the target role assist patients with special needs skill
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to continuity of health care skill
- not needed by the target role maintain reception area skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare staff knowledge
- not needed by the target role process medical insurance claims skill
- not needed by the target role screen clients skill
5 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 clinical coding required
- still to learn data storage required
- still to learn document management required
- still to learn database required
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
Other moves recorded from front line medical receptionist
Common questions about this move
Can a front line medical receptionist become a medical records clerk?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A front line medical receptionist already covers 54% of what a medical records clerk is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 17 of which the medical records clerk role treats as required.
What skills does a front line medical receptionist need to become a medical records clerk?
13 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is deliver case notes.
How hard is the move from front line medical receptionist to medical records clerk?
Its learning distance is 56.6 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.