Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Grows with AI
Medical records specialists
Compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. Classify medical and healthcare concepts, including diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment, into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system. Includes medical coders.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 13% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by +7.8% by 2035, faster than average.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $51,140
- Job growth to 2035
- +7.8%
- Openings a year
- 14,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 201,000
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
- Process digital or online data
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain health or medical records
- Collect information about patients or clients
- Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards
What the work looks like
- Protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
- Review records for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with regulations.
- Scan patients' health records into electronic formats.
- Resolve or clarify codes or diagnoses with conflicting, missing, or unclear information by consulting with doctors or others or by participating in the coding team's regular meetings.
- Release information to persons or agencies according to regulations.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as the demand for health care services and complexity of medical coding grow. This demand for medical records specialists will be partially offset by the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools that make the medical coding process more efficient.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- School bus monitorsChanging shape, Index 22, -1.9%
- Ophthalmic medical techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +21.4%
- Gambling dealersHuman edge, steady, Index 44, +3.4%
- Medical secretaries and administrative assistantsGrows with AI, Index 16, +4.8%
Also known as: Health Information Clerk, Medical Coder, Medical Records Clerk, Medical Records Technician (Medical Records Tech), Coder, Health Information Specialist, Health Information Technician (Health Information Tech), Health Records Specialist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.