Health information technicians collect, code, and maintain medical information about patients.

Health information technicians are also called medical records technicians. Medical records include information about patients' visits to hospitals or doctors. For each patient this information includes:

• Symptoms
• Medical history
• Test results
• X-rays
• Diagnoses
• Treatment plans

Health information technicians gather and organize this information. They make sure records are complete and accurate. They also develop organized filing and storage systems to store and retrieve files. They make sure that files are secure and confidential.

Technicians assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure. They may consult with doctors to resolve or clarify information in the record.

Health information technicians may be responsible for providing patient records to agencies, insurance companies, and lawyers. Some technicians maintain special records, called registries. These records are for specific groups of patients, such as those who have cancer, heart disease, or organ transplants.

Health information technicians also perform other related duties. These include transcribing medical reports, processing insurance bills, and handling patient admission and discharge forms. Experienced technicians may train or supervise other medical records staff.