Jun 18, 2009 4:28 pm US/Central
Uploading Health Records Online A Hot Job Field
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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The conversion of paper medical records into electronic databases is expected to be a job-growth area.
CBS
If you're one of the record number of jobless Illinoisans, a new career could be waiting for you.
Soon, the medical industry will need 75,000 people to help transition to electronic record keeping.
CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker says the time to start training is now.
At Mercy Hospital, you'll find the medical records department on the second floor.
Staffers there are responsible for analyzing each file to make sure the records of thousands of patients are complete and accurate. Until recently, the staff of 28 was a sufficient number to handle the job, but six months ago Mercy put its records online.
Susan Oh is the director of Mercy's medical records. She says the transition to electronic medical records has increased the hospital's need for more people with computer skills and healthcare knowledge, people who know "how different systems interface and can work together."
Mercy is among the many health care facilities in the country making the switch to electronic records. It's all part of the industry's goal to computerize all healthcare records by 2014 to make it easier for doctors to share information. That's good news for job seekers.
"With the initiative of electronic health records, we expect that there will be new types of jobs," Claire Dixon-Lee of the American Health Information Management Association said.
The association estimates there are 75,000 people working in medical records and another 75,000 will be needed to get everyone online – and not just hospitals and doctor's offices. Also making the transition will be dental offices, rehab facilities and long-term care facilities, Dixon-Lee said.
"There's tremendous growth," she said.
How much training does someone need to be prepared to become a health information manager?
"Some people choose the associate-degree route, which is usually two years," Dixon-Lee said.
With an associate's, your salary will range between $25,000 and $45,000 a year. But combine an associate's degree with some experience or get a bachelor's degree, and you can command a starting salary of $45,000 and up.
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