When you talk to someone and say you are a Medical Archivist, they think you organize files all day long. Well, in this article I will explain in details what is a Medical Archivist and what it is we do all day long! I will talk about all the types of job you can do, how you would have plenty of choices if you became a Medical Archivist.
Being a Medical Archivist is never boring! Every day you can encounter something new. Your tasks can change from one day to another. You can be part of a medical research and make a change in the healthcare system.
A Medical Archivist can do a lot of different things. First of all, an archivist can do some coding. This part of the job consist of analyzing the medical record of the patients that had been discharged and finding elements important for the hospital's funding. This information is also sent to the RAMQ for health statistics. When COVID hit, we saw every day how many people have contracted the virus, how many were hospitalized and how many died. All those statistics were entered in the system daily by all the Medical Archivists workings in hospitals. Another task that the archivist can do. We can participate in medical studies. Doctors may want to research some symptoms or treatments of a certain illness. They need to have access to the medical file for the elements in the research. That's when the Medical Archivist will step in. We grant them the access to the medical records, the analysis, compile the information, and then we write a report, add some graphics and share this information with the doctor in charge. The third task an archivist can do is the control of information. When patients needs to access their medical record, they need to write a letter to the medical record department to get it. We then study this request and accept or decline it. This decision is based on a variety of laws that the archivist needs to know.
Every day is different for a Medical Archivist! Let's say you are working with the codes. You start your day by opening your coding software. You need to also open the software for the medical records. Since your job is finding the codes to the illnesses that you found in the chart, you need to open to software to find them. One for the illnesses, which is called ICD-10 and the one for the treatment is called CCI. With both of the software, you can find all the code you need to do your job, but there is still one thing left to do. You need to enter this into another software : MED-Echo plus. This one sends all the information to the RAMQ.
We can work at many places. There are Medical Archivists at the hospitals and the CLSC. But there is also other places fewer known like the rehabilitation center, the youth center, the RAMQ, research center. These institutions are the public health care system. You can find Medical Archivists in private companies, like in the insurance companies. We can also work at the Coroner's office. The social benefits and the salary is a little bit better with the private companies. The advantage of working in the public health system, is mostly to be part of the union.
To work as a Medical Archivist, you need to finish your program in CEGEP call Medical Records Management. It is mandatory to find a job!
Since the job is unionized, the salary standardized depending on your years of work experience. For an Archivist that is just starting, the salary is $24/hour. There are other benefits with the job, like four weeks vacation and 9-13 days of sick days.
We are working in world where technology is always changing. It is part of our job to keep our training up to the standards. There are a lot of training offered by our job association to make sure we stay in the know of all the new medical technologies. We the part of the job where we work with the laws, we have to stay informed with all the changes that the government is doing. As for schooling training, you can do a one-year program to become an oncology registrar. They work mainly with the files of cancer patients.
There are no dangers to be a Medical Archivist. Well, let's say you can be burned out!
If a technology is invented to replace the Medical Archivist, I am not sure it will be beneficial for the hospitals and society in general. I think they will always need a human to read the charts written by the doctors to make sure the right illness and medical treatment is entered in the system. That way they ensure the right amount of money going to the hospitals. That is good for the hospitals but also for the government.
The Medical Archivist can retire at 65 years old. After all those years of working alongside the doctors, I am sure that we will feel like we have made a difference in the society.
This job is under known. We need to be recognized for the part that we play in the medical research and the health system. I hope this article changed your vision that you had about the Medical Archivist's job. It is more than filing files all day. We can be versatile and have many hats!
Rationale: to inform or educate
Date: still relevant
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: no sources cited
Rationale: to inform or educate
Date: still relevant
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: no sources cited