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Are you searching for a medical clerk job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a medical clerk. Feel free to use our job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a medical clerk.

 

Who is a Medical Clerk?

A medical clerk is also known as a health information clerk. A Medical Clerk is solely responsible for managing patient files in a health facility, statistics, reacting to medical records, and perform their administrative task. They also guarantee that medical records are maintained in a manner that adheres to the ethics, regulation, and legal specifications of the medical service system. They are also responsible for supplying the nursing department with information and other forms or documents. They mainly work in healthcare facilities such as hospitals or outpatient care.

Medical clerks work in a medical facility handling patient files and also ensuring that the patient information is properly stored or captured in the database of the hospital management. They are mainly responsible for obtaining patients’ personal information such as their previous medical records and also about their demographics. Medical clerks possess a strong knowledge of the rules and regulations to issue medical files to specific agencies or individuals. For them to fit into this role perfectly, they must possess extensive knowledge of the hospital’s policies or procedures to keep accurate records. They must also avoid errors while compiling a patient’s reports, charts,s and paperwork. After the compilation of all documents, it must then be presented to the staff or nurses of the organization.

 

Medical Clerk Job Description

What is a medical clerk job description? A medical clerk job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a medical clerk in an organization. Below are the medical clerk job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a medical clerk job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.

The following are the duties and responsibilities of a Medical Clerk:

• Compiling patient demographic and personal information
• Publishing medical files to persons and agencies according to laws and regulations
• Enabling departmental audits and investigations
• Allocating medical charts to the appropriate departments of the hospital
• Retaining quality and accurate records by following hospital procedures
• Assuring patient charts, paperwork, and reports are completed in an accurate and timely manner
• Guaranteeing that all medical records are protected and kept confidential
• Cataloging all patient’s medical records and information
• Stocking the nursing department with appropriate documents and forms
• Finalizing clerical duties, including answering phones, responding to emails, and processing patient admission and discharge records
• Procuring medical records by following chart-out procedures, and documenting reasons charts cannot be retrieved for statistical and follow-up purposes
• Developing digital copies of paperwork and storing records electronically
• Cataloging the paperwork and reports of impatient quickly and accurately
• Protecting patient records and ensuring that everyone complies with the HIPAA standards
• Processing the records for admitting and releasing patients
• Readying invoices
• Replying to requests for medical records and processing  letters and reports
• Procuring patient schedules from the computer system, distributing lab reports to physicians, and materials to other departments
• Photocopying records and documents for billing or legal services, sending and obtaining information via fax machine, and answering phone calls
• The protecting supervisor informed of problems or issues monitoring supplies needed

 

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent qualification
• A minimum of two  experience in handling medical records in a licensed medical facility or a similar role
• The progressive understanding of medical terminology and the administration process
• Competent in information management programs and MS Office
• Outstanding  information and interpersonal abilities
• Powerful attention to detail with excellent organizational skills
• Proficiency to maintain records and files
• Proficiency to operate a personal computer
• Capacity to maintain confidentiality
• Capacity to exert physical effort maintaining and distributing files
• Understanding of medical terminology

 

Essential Skills

1. Auditing: Auditing is the ability to evaluate and analyze medical data. Medical clerks often employ this skill when analyzing patients’ files, they must ensure that all the information obtained is accurate and free from any error. Auditing is highly beneficial because it helps medical clerks’ records to easily specify errors in the file so that they can easily correct them before it becomes an.
2. Scanning & Indexing: Medical clerks utilize scanning and indexing to convert paper documents into digital files. They employ these skills to formulate an organizational system for electronic files which allows them to have easy access to information when they need it. Medical clerks work with a bulk of data, so it is paramount for them to possess strong scanning and indexing skills to keep their systems organized and refreshed.
3. Filing & Retrieval: Medical Clerks employ filing and retrieving skills to maintain the organization of patient files. They are also responsible for retrieving information from storage when a doctor demands it. To easily access the information, they should arrange files in alphabetical order, by date or the kind of record. They should also be able to retrieve files quickly so that they can quickly give patients their records.
4. Data Entry Skills: Medical clerks utilize data entry skills to enter patient information into the hospital database. This has to do with them typing the demographic details, treatment plans, and medical history. Data entry skills accuracy and consistency to be perfect in it. It should also be done in such a way that other staff of the hospitals can have access to it; nurses for instance may want to obtain patient information while the patient is undergoing treatment.
5. Record Maintenance: Medical clerks use their ability to maintain or preserve the files of patients so that they can be further consulted for medical check-ups. For them to achieve this, they must enter the information into the system correctly. Medical clerks guarantee that all records are readily available when they are needed by nurses and other medical staff. They also make duplicates of these records and send them directly to a third party.
6. HIPAA Compliance:  Medical clerks must endure they follow safety laws when carrying out their responsibility. They must also ensure the confidentiality of patient information and one of to ensure is that they are familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.  This ensures that a patient should control his or her medical data and that organization should keep it confidential. Medical clerks should also know how to get rid of sensitive documents that they no longer need.
7. Medical Terminology: Medical terminology is a language or words used by medical personnel to describe various conditions, procedures, and also treatments. Medical clerks must have extensive knowledge of these terminologies so that they can apply them while carrying out their responsibility. They may also be mandated to transcribe the information into the company’s electronic databases. They need to have extensive knowledge of medical terminology so that they can use it to interact with patients and other medical staff members.
8. Problem-solving: Problem-solving is the ability to resolve issues that may spring up while working in an organization. Medical clerks often employ problem-solving skills to handle mistakes in a patient file, entering data into a system incorrectly, and also settling disputes between patients, for instance, if a medical practitioner orders patient information to be delivered to him and you discover it is not correct. You will need to look for the correct information and recopy it manually.
9. Customer Service: Customer service is an important skill that medical clerks need to have for them to interact with patients as expected and also to retain them. They also need customer service skills to build a relationship with other medical staff. Medical clerks are expected to have a friendly attitude and maintain a sense of professionalism in the course of discharging their duties. They must also be willing to answer a patient’s question about the patient information or procedures. They need to maintain strict professionalism as regards confidentiality when handling a patient file.
10. Time-management and Multi-tasking Skills:  time management is the ability to enforce tasks at the appropriate time. Medical often perform different responsibilities, so it is paramount for them to manage their time effectively. This includes knowing how to arrange a task according to the order of priority. It also means having knowledge of incoming events or projects or planning accordingly.

In addition, they must also employ their multi-tasking skills when they need to perform so many duties in an organization. For instance, a medical clerk might be working on a particular task and he can also oversee how another task is done by delegating to a third party to accomplish it. This skill is highly crucial as a result of the bulk of work in an organization. This ensures that all tasks are completed at the appointed time.

 

How to Become a Medical Clerk

• Earn the Basic Education

Medical clerks’ minimum requirement to be employed is post-secondary education. Most employers prefer candidates who have completed their bachelor’s or associate degree in health information technology or any related course. The courses they will study in the university usually take the form of anatomy, data systems, coding systems, and also health care reimbursement. Employers may prefer to hire candidates who are certified in the field such as Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT) or certified Electronic Health Records Specialists (CEHRS) but it is not mandatory to be certified.

• Get Experience

Medical clerks are usually mandated to possess previous experience in a medical facility. The experience they can acquire by volunteering for an internship placement in an organization or starting by working in an entry-level position. Most employers required years of experience 1-2 years in a medical environment. They also prefer to hire individuals who have experience in computers and software for them to input medical data into the system organization.

• Develop Your Skills

There are different ways you can build on your skills as a medical clerk and one of such is to enroll in a program that specializes in medical records and health information. This will allow you to build on your skills and also learn different aspects of the job such as how to adhere to HIPAA regulations. Another way to learn this skill is to work as a medical clerk in a hospital or healthcare setting, this will allow you to meet with professionals on the field whereby can impart skills to you that will help you to become a successful medical clerk.

• Apply for Jobs

Once you have the basic qualification, experience, and skills, you can proceed to draft your resume to apply for jobs. You can apply for jobs both online and offline. You can also start by picking low-entry jobs before you become promoted to the role of a medical clerk.

 

Where to Work as a Medical

Medical Clerks work in the healthcare sector such as Hospitals, outpatient care, clinics, and medical centers or medical outreach. The main responsibility they perform is to handle clerical duties and they spend 40 hours per week working. They can also be called upon on weekends or holidays if there is a demand. They work in an office setting sitting at the front desk at a computer.

 

Medical Clerk Salary Scale

The salary of a medical clerk varies according to different countries and below are some examples:

• In the United States, The average medical clerk’s salary in the USA is $31,200 per year or $16 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $27,300 per year while most professional workers make up to $38,026 per year. The average medical records clerk salary in Washington is $34,125 per year or $17.50 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $31,200 per year while most professional workers make up to $43,251 per year. The average medical records clerk salary in Colorado is $35,100 per year or $18 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $31,200 per year while most professional workers make up to $40,950 per year.
• In the United Kingdom, The average medical clerk’s salary in the United Kingdom is £21,054 per year or £10.80 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at £20,251 per year while most professional workers make up to £27,403 per year
• In Canada, The average Medical clerk’s salary in Canada is $43,519 per year or $22.32 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $40,737 per year, while most professional workers make up to $52,837 per year.
• In Australia, The average medical clerk’s salary in Australia is $59,488 per year or $30.51 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $54,265 per year, while most professional workers make up to $68,250 per year.
• In Nigeria, A person working as a Medical Clerk in Nigeria typically earns around 180,000 NGN per month. Salaries range from 93,700 NGN (lowest) to 276,000 NGN (highest).

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