Medical Records & Health Information Technician Interview Questions & Answers

Medical records and health information technicians organize and manage health information data.

Interviewers look for candidates that demonstrate excellent skills such as:

• Interpersonal skills
• Integrity
• Analytical skills
• Technical skills
• Attention to detail

In this blog, we discuss commonly asked interview questions during job interviews for medical records & health information technician positions. We also discuss the qualities that interviewers look for in successful candidates. In other words, we’re here to help you out!

Also, read more about frequently asked job interview questions here and check our job interview preparation checklist.

Skills Interviewers Look For In Successful Candidates

Below we discuss the skills you can highlight in your answers to demonstrate that you’re qualified for the job.

Analytical skills

Why interviewers are interested in your analytical skills:

Health information technicians must understand and follow medical records and diagnoses and then decide how best to code them in a patient’s medical records.

Related: What Does a HIM Specialist Do?

Attention to detail

Why interviewers are interested in your attention to detail:

Health information technicians must be accurate when recording and coding patient information.

Related: What Does a Unit Secretary Do?

Integrity

Why interviewers are interested in your integrity:

Health information technicians work with patient data that are required, by law, to be kept confidential. They must exercise discretion and a strong sense of ethics when working with this information in order to protect patient confidentiality.

Learn more about interview questions about honesty & integrity and how to answer them!

Interpersonal skills

Why interviewers are interested in your interpersonal skills:

Health information technicians need to be able to discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements with other professionals, such as physicians and finance personnel.

Learn more about interpersonal skill interview questions and how to answer them!

Technical skills

Why interviewers are interested in your technical skills:

Health information technicians must use coding and classification software and the electronic health record (EHR) system that their healthcare organization or physician practice has adopted.

(source: bls.gov)

Medical Records & Health Information Technician Job Interview Questions & Answers

During a job interview, the hiring manager wants to discuss several things. Think of your:

• Employment history
• Skills and abilities
• Accomplishments
• Job qualifications
• Educational background
• Career goals
• Personality

Below you find a list of commonly asked interview questions.

Examples Of General Medical Records & Health Information Technician Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How would you describe yourself?
3. Why do you want to work here?
4. What interests you about this position?
5. Walk me through your resume.
6. What motivates you?
7. Why are you leaving your current job?
8. Describe your work ethic.
9. What is your greatest strength?
10. How does your experience qualify you for this job?
11. What is your greatest weakness?
12. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
13. Tell me about a challenging work situation and how you overcame it.
14. What are your expectations for this position?
15. What are your career goals?
16. Why should we hire you?
17. What did you like most about your last position?
18. What did you like least about your last position?
19. How do you handle stress?
20. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Learn how to answer these common job interview questions!

Examples Of Specific Medical Records & Health Information Technician Behavioral Interview Questions

Learn more about answering behavioral interview questions by using the STAR interview technique.

1. Walk me through how you keep patient’s medical files.
2. Give me an example of your plan, manage and prioritize your workdays.
3. Tell me about your experience with health information technology software. Which software do you use and why?
4. How do you make sure that all information about patients remains private?
5. Give me an example of how you follow medical records and diagnoses and how you decide how to code them in a patient’s medical record.
6. Have you developed a system to minimize the risk of errors in your work? Which ones?
7. Give me an example of a time you had to perform under pressure.
8. Tell me what you have done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
9. Give me an example of the steps you take to ensure that you create accurate medical records.
10. Tell me about a time you thought outside of the box to solve a problem.
11. Give me an example of a situation that demonstrates that you are reliable and able to work independently.

Learn more about questions to ask the interviewer during your job interview.