Historically, doctors and hospitals maintained paper records that detailed the medical histories of patients, including details of past illnesses and treatments that had been prescribed. Since the turn of the 21st century, governments in many nations have encouraged or required medical professionals to start using electronic medical records (EMRs) rather than paper records. New jobs have been created as a result of this change. Commonly found EMR jobs include jobs for computer programmers, sales people, data entry clerks, and EMR trainers.
Computer programmers, also known as software developers, must work with medical professionals to develop computer applications that are equipped to store and sort medical information. Medical professionals at remote locations can easily access and share information using web based EMR software. Due to advances in medical treatments and procedures, EMR jobs for computer programmers are widely available because software developers constantly have to upgrade or replace existing EMR applications.
Many sales people are employed in EMR jobs. These individuals are employed by software development firms that develop EMR programs, and the sales people have to arrange seminars and one-on-one meetings with medical professionals in order to market and sell the software. Sales people are typically paid on a commission only basis, although some do also receive a small base salary. Aside from marketing software directly to medical professionals, sales people representing small firms also try to market the products to investors in order to raise more money for future product development.
Employees of medical offices that have relied on paper records in the past require training before they can begin to use EMR software. Some medical companies recruit corporate trainers to work in EMR jobs. These trainers must lean about the software and develop training manuals and presentations that enable other staff members to learn about the new systems. Some trainers work on a contract basis, while others are full time employees who handle other types of training beyond EMR related matters.
Data entry clerks are responsible for inputting information into EMR systems. Errors can be very costly in the medical field, so these clerks have to be knowledgeable about medical terminology and the EMR software that they use. Insurance companies hire large numbers of clerks to input and review information related to EMRs. Billing clerks also need to have access to computer-based records to ensure that insurees are billed correctly. Billing clerk jobs existed prior to EMRs, but many clerk jobs have evolved into EMR oriented positions.
