Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

medical administrative assistanttoclinical coder

A medical administrative assistant already meets 30% of what the clinical coder role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

From medical administrative assistant
30%
Overlap1
To clinical coder
6 Skills carried over
8 Required, not held
64.6 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

30%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.6/ 100

1 Share of the clinical coder role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the medical administrative assistant profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A clinical coder role treats 4 of its required skills as things a medical administrative assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
  • manage healthcare users' data
  • medical terminology
  • professional documentation in health care

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A clinical coder role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical administrative assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held collect healthcare user's general data information skills
  • already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality assisting and caring
  • already held professional documentation in health care health and welfare
  • already held medical informatics health and welfare
  • already held medical terminology health and welfare
  • already held manage healthcare users' data information skills

All 6 carried skills, including the 4 the clinical coder role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 17 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 information skills 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held perform clinical coding procedures required
  • required, not held review patient's medical data required
  • optional, not held archive healthcare users' records optional
  • optional, not held collect statistics on medical records optional
02 assisting and caring 2 required
  • required, not held adhere to organisational guidelines required
  • required, not held follow clinical guidelines required
03 health and welfare 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held clinical coding required
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
  • optional, not held human anatomy optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
04 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held use electronic health records management system required
  • optional, not held manage digital documents optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required
  • required, not held communicate in healthcare required
06 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required
  • required, not held document management required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a clinical coder role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 6 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
  • already held manage healthcare users' data skill
  • already held medical terminology knowledge
  • already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
  • already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
  • already held medical informatics knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held health records management optional
08 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held identify patients' medical records optional
09 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held health care system optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held archive healthcare users' records optional
  • optional, not held collect statistics on medical records optional
  • optional, not held health records management optional
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
  • optional, not held identify patients' medical records optional
  • optional, not held health care system optional
  • optional, not held human anatomy optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
  • optional, not held manage digital documents optional
36 held skills the clinical coder role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role administrative tasks in a medical environment knowledge
  • not needed by the target role allocate bills skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse insurance needs skill
  • not needed by the target role answer patients' questions skill
  • not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role clinical reports knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
  • not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
  • not needed by the target role fill out forms skill
  • not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
  • not needed by the target role handle paperwork skill
  • not needed by the target role healthcare administration knowledge
  • not needed by the target role insurance law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role listen actively skill
  • not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role manage personnel agenda skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor billing procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role order supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role organise travel arrangements for staff skill
  • not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role plan schedule skill
  • not needed by the target role process medical insurance claims skill
  • not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
  • not needed by the target role record treated patient's information skill
  • not needed by the target role send samples to laboratory skill
  • not needed by the target role transcribe dialogues skill
  • not needed by the target role transcription methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role type on electronic devices skill
  • not needed by the target role types of insurance knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
  • not needed by the target role work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
  • not needed by the target role work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held clinical coding required
  • required, not held document management required
  • optional, not held health records management optional
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
  • optional, not held health care system optional
  • optional, not held human anatomy optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
Index
Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.