Clinical coders translate descriptions of medical diagnoses and procedures into codes, which record health care data.
Duties and Tasks
Clinical coders may perform the following tasks:
read and analyse medical records to help identify all diagnoses, operations and procedures relevant to the current period of patient care
clarify inconsistent, doubtful or non-specific information in a medical record by consulting with the responsible medical practitioner
allocate codes to patients' current period of care, using knowledge of the information contained within the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, commonly referred to as ICD-10-AM
conduct assessment of work to make sure that there is continuous improvement in ICD-10-AM coding and collection of quality health data
assess the medical record content and highlight shortcomings to management
maintain ICD-10-AM coding books to make sure they are updated to the current version being used
assist with the education of clinical staff with regard to ICD-10-AM
work with computing and finance staff
assist with medical research and casemix (patient statistics) projects.
Clinical coders work closely with medical staff who are responsible for recording the information required for coding medical data within the patient's medical record.
Personal Requirements
able to perform precise and detailed work
good communication and interpersonal skills
able to work as part of a team
interested in health care procedures
willing to continually update skills and knowledge.
This information is based on the 2006 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Earnings of persons working full-time and part-time, 2006
Other Intermediate Clerical Workers
Employment Status
Weekly Income ($)
Full-time
820
Part-time
389
Copyright 2007 education.au
This information is based on the Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership survey conducting annually by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Related Courses
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