# Medical Records Specialists

US SOC code 29-2072. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/29-2072

Also called: Medical coder, Medical records technician, Health information technician, HIM specialist, Health information management specialist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **194,720** US medical records specialists, with median pay of **$51,140** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://web.archive.org/web/20241009192515/https://ahimafoundation.ahima.org/health-information-history-center/) of **35** from 1928, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for medical records specialists: ICD-10-CM/PCS transition, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-2072&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **55.9%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Medical Records Specialists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1907
- Latest US employment: 194,720 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $51,140 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +7.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [22]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 12111)
  - Employment, 2020: 6,245. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [3]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 12111 Health information management occupations, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$61,600. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 12111 Health information management occupations, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 9 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1928 | 35 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AHIMA Foundation [1] |
| 1956 | n/a | $2,600 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [4] |
| 1960 | 4,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AHIMA Foundation [1] |
| 1978 | 23,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AHIMA Foundation [1] |
| 2021 | 180,570 | $46,660 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 187,720 | $47,180 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 185,690 | $48,780 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 187,910 | $50,250 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 194,720 | $51,140 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (50)

### Employment series

1. [AHIMA Foundation Health Information History Center (ARLNA founded 1928 with 35 members)](https://web.archive.org/web/20241009192515/https://ahimafoundation.ahima.org/health-information-history-center/), AHIMA Foundation
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
3. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

4. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade 1950-1959 (BLS hospital clerical wage context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

8. [Mayo Clinic Proceedings — Patient Records at Mayo Clinic: Lessons Learned From the First 100 Patients in Dr Henry S. Plummer's Dossier Model](https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2811%2960790-8/fulltext), Mayo Clinic Proceedings
9. [American College of Surgeons — "The Minimum Standard" document (1919 hospital standardization requirements)](https://www.facs.org/about-acs/archives/past-highlights/minimumhighlight/), American College of Surgeons
10. [AHIMA Foundation Health Information History Center (professional history, founding 1928)](https://web.archive.org/web/20241009192515/https://ahimafoundation.ahima.org/health-information-history-center/), AHIMA Foundation
11. [Rasmussen University — Health Information Management History: Past, Present and Future](https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/health-sciences/blog/health-information-management-history/), Rasmussen University
12. [Wikipedia — Diagnosis-related group (DRG history, ICD-9-CM adoption 1979, Medicare prospective payment)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis-related_group), Wikipedia
13. [CMS — Design and Development of the Diagnosis Related Group (DRGs)](https://www.cms.gov/icd10m/version37-fullcode-cms/fullcode_cms/Design_and_development_of_the_Diagnosis_Related_Group_%28DRGs%29.pdf), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
14. [CDC — Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) summary](https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/php/resources/health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act-of-1996-hipaa.html), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
15. [HHS — Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html), US Department of Health and Human Services
16. [HITECH Act — American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Title XIII](https://www.hipaaexams.com/blog/the-hitech-act-and-meaningful-use-of-electronic-health-records), HIPAA Exams / HHS
17. [NCBI Bookshelf — Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems among US Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2008-2015](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK612930/), ONC / National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
18. [PMC — A narrative review of the impact of the transition to ICD-10 and ICD-10-CM/PCS](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7309233/), PubMed Central / National Library of Medicine
19. [CMS — ICD-10 codes (official implementation guidance)](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding-billing/icd-10-codes), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
20. [AHA Center for Health Innovation — 3 Ways AI Can Improve Revenue-Cycle Management (2024)](https://www.aha.org/aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2024-06-04-3-ways-ai-can-improve-revenue-cycle-management), American Hospital Association
21. [Market.us — AI in Medical Coding Market USD 8.4 Billion by 2033](https://media.market.us/ai-in-medical-coding-market-news-2025/), Market.us Research

### Forecasts and exposure studies

22. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 29-2072 Medical records specialists (2025: 200.7 thousand; 2035: 216.3 thousand; +7.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-2072&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
23. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 29-2072.00, human-rated β 0.559)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

24. [Mayo Clinic Proceedings — Patient Records at Mayo Clinic: Lessons Learned From the First 100 Patients in Dr Henry S. Plummer's Dossier Model](https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2811%2960790-8/fulltext), Mayo Clinic Proceedings
25. [American College of Surgeons — "The Minimum Standard" document (1919)](https://www.facs.org/about-acs/archives/past-highlights/minimumhighlight/), American College of Surgeons
26. [AHIMA Foundation Health Information History Center](https://web.archive.org/web/20241009192515/https://ahimafoundation.ahima.org/health-information-history-center/), AHIMA Foundation
27. [Wikipedia — Diagnosis-related group (Medicare and Medicaid creation 1965, impact on hospital records)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis-related_group), Wikipedia
28. [CDC — Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)](https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/php/resources/health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act-of-1996-hipaa.html), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
29. [HITECH Act — The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Title XIII](https://www.hipaaexams.com/blog/the-hitech-act-and-meaningful-use-of-electronic-health-records), HIPAA Exams / HHS
30. [PMC — A narrative review of the impact of the transition to ICD-10 and ICD-10-CM/PCS](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7309233/), PubMed Central / National Library of Medicine
31. [BLS — 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system revisions](https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

32. [Rasmussen University — Health Information Management History: Past, Present and Future](https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/health-sciences/blog/health-information-management-history/), Rasmussen University

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Medical Records Specialists (29-2072.00): tasks, technology skills, wage, employment](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2072.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS OOH — Medical Records Specialists: +7% 2024-2034 growth, 194,800 employed, AI impact acknowledged](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Solventum 360 Encompass Autonomous Coding — 74–91% qualification rate, 95% accuracy, zero-coder-intervention billing](https://www.solventum.com/en-us/home/health-information-technology/solutions/360-encompass-autonomous/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AKASA Medical Coding — GenAI coding with Cleveland Clinic; ranked #1 most-promising healthcare RCM startup 2025](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/akasa-unveils-akasa-medical-codingtm-for-enhanced-revenue-cycle-management-with-generative-ai.html), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Waystar acquires Iodine Software for $1.25B — AI-powered CDI and autonomous coding for 17/20 US premier health systems](https://www.waystar.com/news/waystar-to-acquire-iodine-software-accelerating-the-ai-powered-transformation-of-healthcare-payments/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AHIMA — Upskilling the Health Information Workforce in the Age of AI: 75% call for upskilling, 52% orgs plan AI/ML increase](https://www.ahima.org/education-events/artificial-intelligence/upskilling-the-health-information-workforce-in-the-age-of-ai/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [HHS OCR — Proposed HIPAA Security Rule update Jan 2025: first major update in 20 years, stricter AI data governance requirements](https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2025/05/hipaa-compliance-ai-digital-health-privacy-officers-need-know/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [CombineHealth AI — Top 10 AI Medical Coding Solutions 2026: 30–70% FTE workload reduction across platforms](https://www.combinehealth.ai/blog/ai-medical-coding-solutions), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Regard AI — AI-enabled CDI tool reduces physician query rate 14.8% (from 9.2% to 7.8%); 150+ hospital deployments, July 2025](https://regard.com/press/regard-launches-the-first-platform-to-combine-chart-data-with-patient-physician-conversations-to-recommend-diagnoses/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Tandfonline 2025 — Study of AI-powered CDI workflow: relative 14.8% reduction in CDI query rate after AI implementation in hospitalist program](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/29947448.2025.2520761), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.