Medical Health Records — Entry-Level Careers: Complete Guide & 100+ Employers

Digital Doctors

Tue, 16 Sep 2025

Quick overview

Medical health records (Health Information Management — HIM) is one of the most accessible entry points into healthcare’s digital side. Entry-level roles such as medical records clerk, EHR specialist, release-of-information (ROI) clerk, medical transcriptionist, and Certified Coding Associate (CCA) often require little more than a high-school diploma plus certification or an associate degree — yet they open pathways into coding, auditing, informatics and remote/contract work.

Demand and pay are healthy: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists Medical Records & Health Information Technicians as an occupation with steady openings and a median annual wage in the neighborhood of national middle incomes. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Who this guide is for

• Career starters (recent grads, career-changers) who want a healthcare job without a 4-year degree.

• Clinicians or admin staff pivoting into health IT, coding, or revenue cycle.

• Digital nomads who want remote-friendly, data-centric healthcare work.

Top entry-level roles in medical health records

1. Medical Records / Health Information Clerk — file/chart management, data entry, indexing.

2. EHR / Electronic Health Record Specialist (trainee) — build templates, fix data, user support.

3. Release of Information (ROI) Clerk — manage privacy requests and legal disclosures.

4. Medical Transcriptionist / Speech-to-Text Editor — edit provider dictation (increasingly remote).

5. Medical Scribe (remote or in-person) — realtime documentation support for clinicians.

6. Medical Billing Assistant (entry level) — claim submission basics and AR follow up.

7. Chart Abstractor / Data Abstractor — pull specific data from charts for registries and studies.

8. Health Information Technician (entry) — foundational HIM tasks; often pathway to RHIT.

9. Certified Coding Associate (CCA) prep roles / Trainee Coder — apprenticeship-style coding jobs.

10. Records Clerk for clinics, labs, imaging centers — fixed-hour, steady work that builds experience.

Why start here (the upside)

• Low barrier to entry — many roles accept high-school diplomas + short certs.

• High internal mobility — you can move from data entry → coding → RHIT → informatics.

• Remote opportunities — transcription, coding traineeships, and ROI work often go remote.

• Foundational tech skills — EHR fluency, data quality, and basic coding are evergreen skills for healthcare IT.

Key certifications & learning (free → paid)

Entry-level & employer-friendly (low cost / fast):

• NHA — Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist (CEHRS) — well-recognized for EHR roles and data entry specialists. AscendBase

• AHIMA — Certified Coding Associate (CCA) — great for entry coders; high-value credential employers recognize. Candidates may sit for the exam with a high-school diploma and coding training recommended. ahima.org+1

• Short courses / MOOCs: “Medical Terminology”, “Health Data Basics” on Coursera, edX — free to audit.

Higher-value / next steps (paid / longer):

• AHIMA — Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) — requires an accredited associate HIM degree; prepares you for broader HIM work. ahima.org

• Certified Professional Coder (CPC) — AAPC (if you want to move into outpatient coding).

• Vendor certifications: Epic ASAP/Clarity/Resolute basics, Cerner fundamentals — useful for EHR support roles.

• Short microcredentials: HIPAA/privacy courses, SQL basics, Excel for healthcare data.

Essential on-the-job skills (what employers actually test)

• Typing & accuracy — fast, precise data entry.

• Medical terminology & anatomy basics — enables correct indexing and abstraction.

• EHR navigation — Epic, Cerner, Meditech, Athena familiarity is a plus.

• Attention to confidentiality & HIPAA/GDPR — privacy discipline is non-negotiable.

• Basic problem solving & communication — users will ask you to fix records.

• Excel + basic SQL (nice to have) — boosts your hireability for analytics/abstractor gigs.

Tools & tech you’ll meet day-one

• EHRs: Epic, Cerner (Oracle), Meditech, Athenahealth, Allscripts, NextGen.

• Speech recognition / transcription: Nuance Dragon Medical, M*Modal, Rev.

• Coding & reference tools: ICD-10 lookup, CPT references, EncoderPro, FindACode.

• Document management & OCR: ABBYY, Kofax, SharePoint, Box.

• Scheduling & ticketing: Jira, ServiceNow, Zendesk (for user support tickets).

• Basic data tools: Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau/Power BI (intro level for abstractors).

Where employers source entry-level staff (job boards & hiring hubs)

• General sites: Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter.

• Health-specific: AHIMA CareerAssist, AAPC Jobs (for coding trainees), hospital career pages.

• Remote / gig platforms: Upwork (transcription), Rev (transcription), FlexJobs (vetted remote roles).

• Staffing & healthcare recruiters: Randstad, Kelly Services, Soliant Health, Robert Half Healthcare.
  (For employment statistics and job outlook see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Bureau of Labor Statistics

6-month entry roadmap (practical)

Month 1 — Foundation:

• Learn basic medical terminology and Excel.

• Apply for EHR helpdesk, records clerk, or transcription roles.

Month 2 — Certify:

• Complete CEHRS or an equivalent EHR basics short course. Start CCA study if you want coding pathway. AscendBase+1

Month 3 — Hands-on:

• Land a records clerk or scribe job; document every system you use. Build a short “skills log” of EHR modules and tasks.

Month 4 — Upskill:

• Take an online course in ICD-10 basics or SQL for data cleaning.

Month 5 — Apply & network:

• Apply to 50 employers (use the list below), join AHIMA/AAPC student chapters, and attend one virtual job fair.

Month 6 — Specialize:

• Choose a path: coding (CCA → CPC), EHR support (vendor certs), or data abstraction (power BI/SQL).

How to make your resume stand out (entry-level)

• List EHR platforms you’ve used (even limited exposure).

• Add certificates (CEHRS, HIPAA, medical terminology).

• Include a 3-line achievement: e.g., “Processed 200+ chart requests monthly with 99% accuracy.”

• Provide a short Loom video (60–90s) explaining your EHR experience and attention to privacy — effective for remote applications.

Red flags & what to avoid

• Jobs that ask you to pay for “exclusive placement” or “training fees” up front.

• Very low pay per-chart transcription with no review/mentorship — good for practice, bad for living wages.

• Vague roles that mix clinical decisions beyond record clerking — check licensure requirements.

110+ organizations that hire entry-level medical records / HIM staff (career pages)

Below is a curated, international list of hospitals, payers, RCM firms, EHR vendors, labs, staffing companies and digital health employers that regularly hire for entry-level HIM, records, transcription, ROI and EHR support roles. (Click the careers link to search current openings.)

1. Mayo Clinic — https://jobs.mayoclinic.org/ Mayo Clinic Jobs

2. Cleveland Clinic — https://my.clevelandclinic.org/careers

3. Johns Hopkins Medicine — https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/careers

4. Kaiser Permanente — https://medicaljobs.kp.org/

5. HCA Healthcare — https://careers.hcahealthcare.com

6. UnitedHealth Group — https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/careers.html

7. Optum — https://www.optum.com/careers.html

8. Ciox Health — https://www.cioxhealth.com/careers

9. R1 RCM — https://www.r1rcm.com/careers

10. Change Healthcare — https://www.changehealthcare.com/careers

11. Epic Systems — https://www.epic.com/careers

12. Cerner / Oracle Health — https://www.cerner.com/careers

13. Athenahealth — https://www.athenahealth.com/careers

14. Allscripts — https://www.allscripts.com/company/careers/

15. Meditech — https://www.meditech.com/careers

16. eClinicalWorks — https://www.eclinicalworks.com/company/careers/

17. NextGen Healthcare — https://www.nextgen.com/careers

18. 3M Health Information Systems — https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/

19. Nuance Communications (Dragon Medical) — https://www.nuance.com/about-us/careers.html

20. M*Modal (now part of 3M/Nuance) — company careers pages

21. Rev (transcription & captions) — https://www.rev.com/freelancers

22. TranscribeMe — https://www.transcribeme.com/careers/

23. LabCorp — https://jobs.labcorp.com

24. Quest Diagnostics — https://www.questdiagnostics.com/home/careers

25. Fresenius Medical Care — https://www.fresenius.com/careers

26. McKesson — https://www.mckesson.com/careers

27. Cardinal Health — https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/careers.html

28. Cerberus / Conifer Health Solutions — https://www.coniferhealth.com/careers

29. Parallon (HCA affiliate) — https://www.parallon.com/careers

30. nThrive — https://www.nthrive.com/careers

31. GeBBS Healthcare — https://www.gebbs.com/careers

32. AGS Health — https://www.agshealth.com/careers

33. Omega Healthcare Services — https://www.omegahealthcare.com/careers

34. Ensemble Health Partners — https://www.ensemblehp.com/careers

35. MedData — https://www.meddatainc.com/careers

36. Aviacode — https://www.aviacode.com/careers

37. Huron Consulting (health consulting) — https://www.huronconsultinggroup.com/careers

38. Accenture (health practice) — https://www.accenture.com/us-en/careers

39. Cognizant — https://careers.cognizant.com

40. Deloitte (healthcare) — https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/careers.html

41. PwC (health advisory) — https://www.pwc.com/careers

42. Genpact — https://www.genpact.com/careers

43. WNS Global Services — https://www.wns.com/careers

44. Sutherland Global Services — https://www.sutherlandglobal.com/careers

45. Teleperformance (health services) — https://teleperformance.com/en-us/careers

46. Randstad Healthcare — https://www.randstadusa.com/jobs/healthcare/

47. Kelly Services — https://www.kellyservices.com/us/careers

48. Robert Half Healthcare — https://www.roberthalf.com/jobs/healthcare

49. Soliant Health — https://www.soliant.com/careers

50. Adecco — https://www.adeccogroup.com/careers/

51. Aetna (CVS Health) — https://www.aetna.com/about-us/aetna-careers.html

52. Humana — https://careers.humana.com

53. Cigna — https://www.cigna.com/about-us/careers

54. Anthem (Elevance Health) — https://www.elevancehealth.com/careers

55. Centene — https://www.centene.com/careers

56. Blue Cross Blue Shield (national/plan pages) — example: https://www.bcbs.com/careers

57. Mayo Clinic Health System — https://jobs.mayoclinic.org

58. Mount Sinai Health System — https://www.mountsinai.org/careers

59. NYU Langone Health — https://www.nyulangone.org/careers

60. Yale New Haven Health — https://www.ynhhs.org/careers

61. Northwell Health — https://careers.northwell.edu

62. Providence Health & Services — https://www.providence.org/careers

63. Banner Health — https://jobs.bannerhealth.com

64. Sutter Health — https://www.sutterhealth.org/careers

65. Intermountain Healthcare — https://intermountainhealthcare.org/careers

66. UPMC — https://careers.upmc.com

67. Ascension — https://jobs.ascension.org/us/en/remote

68. Community Health Systems (CHS) — https://www.chs.net/careers

69. Memorial Hermann Health System — https://memorialhermann.org/careers

70. Trinity Health — https://www.trinity-health.org/careers

71. Advocate Aurora Health — https://www.advocateaurorahealth.org/careers

72. BayCare Health System — https://www.baycare.org/careers

73. Children's Hospital systems — (eg. https://www.childrenshospital.org/careers)

74. Veterans Affairs (U.S. VA Jobs) — https://www.usajobs.gov/ (search VA health jobs)

75. NHS (UK) — https://www.jobs.nhs.uk

76. Health Service Executive (Ireland) — https://hse.ie/eng/staff/Jobs/

77. MSF / Doctors Without Borders — https://www.msf.org/jobs

78. PATH — https://www.path.org/careers

79. World Health Organization (WHO) — https://www.who.int/careers

80. Telehealth startups: Teladoc Health — https://www.teladochealth.com/careers

81. Amwell — https://careers.amwell.com/

82. PlushCare — https://www.plushcare.com/careers

83. Zocdoc — https://www.zocdoc.com/careers

84. HealthTap — https://www.healthtap.com/careers

85. Validic (RPM integrations) — https://validic.com/careers

86. Vivify Health — https://vivifyhealth.com/careers

87. Wellframe (Bosch) — https://www.wellframe.com/careers

88. GetWellNetwork — https://www.getwellnetwork.com/careers

89. Healthwise — https://www.healthwise.org/careers

90. Emmi Solutions — https://www.emmisolutions.com/careers

91. PatientPoint — https://www.patientpoint.com/careers

92. Change Healthcare — https://www.changehealthcare.com/careers (repeat — big hiring pool)

93. Epic Systems (repeat) — https://www.epic.com/careers (EHR support roles)

94. Cerner / Oracle (repeat) — https://www.cerner.com/careers

95. Stripe / Square? (health payments teams hire revenue cycle analysts) — corporate careers pages

96. Pharmaceutical patient support hubs (Pfizer, Novartis) — corporate careers pages

97. Clinical research organizations (CROs) — IQVIA https://www.iqvia.com/careers

98. Datavant (health data tools) — https://www.datavant.com/careers

99. Health Catalyst — https://www.healthcatalyst.com/careers

100. Olive AI — https://www.oliveai.com/careers (automation in RCM/HIM)

101. Redox — https://www.redoxengine.com/careers (integration platform)

102. Collective Health — https://www.collectivehealth.com/careers

103. Bright Health — https://brighthealthplan.com/careers

104. Clover Health — https://www.cloverhealth.com/careers

105. DispatchHealth — https://www.dispatchhealth.com/careers

106. Heal — https://www.heal.com/careers

107. One Medical — https://www.onemedical.com/careers

108. Carbon Health — https://www.carbonhealth.com/careers

109. Scripps Health — https://www.scripps.org/careers

110. Local government health departments — (search your country/city public health careers page)

Tip: Use each employer’s career page and search keywords: “medical records”, “health information”, “release of information”, “medical transcription”, “coding trainee”, “EHR specialist”.

Interview & application checklist

• Bring an EHR skills log (what you used, for how long).

• Show at least one certificate (CEHRS, HIPAA, medical terminology).

• Be ready to demonstrate typing speed and accuracy (some employers require 50+ WPM).

• Prepare a short process improvement story — e.g., “I improved chart retrieval time by X%.”

Career progression (where this leads)

• 6–18 months: move to trainee coder, ROI specialist, or EHR analyst.

• 2–4 years: earn RHIT, move to coding (CCA → CPC → CCS), auditing, or informatics.

• 5+ years: HIM manager, revenue cycle lead, clinical informaticist, or vendor consultant.

Final tips — practical & honest

• Start local: many hospitals and clinics hire locally for records roles; use them to build experience.

• Be methodical with privacy: HIPAA/GDPR knowledge is a fast-track skill.

• Volume & accuracy beat flashy resumes: employers want people who can reliably process charts with high accuracy.

• Network: AHIMA student chapters, local HIM meetups, and LinkedIn HIM groups are where jobs circulate.