Great Health Care Jobs for Retirees

3. Medical Records Administrator

The nitty-gritty: Techies with a medical bent, log on. As hospitals, nursing care facilities, outpatient care centers, and old-fashioned doctor's offices say sayonara to mounds of paperwork and rows of file drawers in favor of electronic health records, there's a soaring demand to hire workers at ease with computer-ese. The work entails transferring records of physician notes from patient visits, medical or surgical procedures, medical history, test results and more into computerized files. For the most part, this is a stationary desk job, so there's not a lot of running around, standing on your feet or last-minute emergencies. A hot specialty: Coding. Medical coders convert the doctor's report of a disease or injury and any procedures performed into numeric and alphanumeric designations, or codes, to create a claim for insurance reimbursement. It can be tedious. If you miscode, either the patient or the doctor may be under-reimbursed by an insurer. The devil is in the details.

The hours: Varies by medical facility.

Median pay range: $10.21 to $25.69 per hour.

Qualifications: You'll typically need an associate's degree in health information technology from a technical or community college. Online courses are offered, too. Coursework covers medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, health data requirements and standards, clinical classification and coding systems, health care reimbursement methods and database security. Passing a certifying examination is not always required, but employers prefer it. This certification is awarded by the American Health Information Management Association. Visit their website for complete information, including accredited schools and certification details. The American Academy of Professional Coders offers coding credentials. The Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) and Professional Association of Health Care Coding Specialists both offer credentialing in specialty coding. The National Cancer Registrars Association, for instance, offers a credential as a Certified Tumor Registrar. To learn more about the credentials available and their specific requirements, contact the credentialing organization. Computer geeks, this code's for you.

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