Due to the growth in the number of medical tests and procedures drawing close scrutiny from insurance companies, regulators and consumers, the number of positions for medical coders, records technicians and other positions in health information management are expected to grow rapidly over the next five to ten years.

This same scrutiny will also stimulate the need for more medical billers, as insurers look more closely at claims for errors. More technicians and transcribers will also be needed to help health care providers comply with new federal legislation mandating the use of electronic patient record keeping.

The median hourly earnings for medical transcriptionists is $13.64, with the highest 10 percent earning nearly $20 an hour. The median annual earnings of medical records and health information technicians such as medical coders are $25,590, with the highest 10 percent earning more than $41,760. Hospitals paid their health information technicians more – $26,640 a year – than physician offices, which only averaged $22,130 a year.