Reviews medical records to make sure physician documentation accurately reflects how sick patients are and the care they received. BLS does not publish separate figures for health information technologists and medical registrars; it counts them within health information technologist and medical registrar (SOC 29-9021), whose median pay is $68,020 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Associate's degree.
- SOC 29-9021
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist in four numbers
- Median pay
- $68,020a year, or $32.70/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $40KTop 10% $117K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +15.9%Much faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+15.9%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +15.9% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 3,00042,000 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202542K
- Projected 203548.6K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 42K Projected 2035 48.6K - Typical education
- Associate'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: CDI Specialist, Clinical Documentation Specialist, Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist, CDI Nurse, Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist.
Pay
How much do Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars make?
Every clinical documentation integrity specialist in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$68,020
Middle half earn $48,940 to $95,630
- 10th
- $39,830
- 25th
- $48,940
- 75th
- $95,630
- 90th
- $117,420
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $39,830 |
| 25th | $48,940 |
| Median | $68,020 |
| 75th | $95,630 |
| 90th | $117,420 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $68,020
- Median hourly wage
- $32.70/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $74,970
- People employed
- 38,100
Versus all US occupations
At $68,020, Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars earn 33% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $17,040 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $102,760, this is 34% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $117,420 or more while the bottom 10% earn $39,830, a gap of 2.9×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 43% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Arkansas pays the most at $93,300, and still leads at $107,319 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Arkansas | $93,300 | $107,319 | N/A |
| 2Minnesota | $90,760 | $92,029 | 1,040 |
| 3California | $90,750 | $81,964 | 2,920 |
| 4Wisconsin | $89,260 | $94,862 | 650 |
| 5Wyoming | $88,560 | $95,543 | 50 |
| 6Oregon | $86,230 | $83,426 | 660 |
| 7Massachusetts | $81,420 | $76,988 | 880 |
| 8North Dakota | $81,170 | $91,244 | 60 |
| 9New Hampshire | $81,020 | $77,780 | 170 |
| 10Iowa | $80,600 | $91,839 | 270 |
Job outlook
Is Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Much faster than average. +15.9% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars | +15.9% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars to change 15.9% over 2025–2035, roughly 4.5× the 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 6,700 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 3,000 openings are projected each year, 7.1% of the 42,000 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist
Many CDI specialists are registered nurses with acute care experience, while others come from health information management, coding, or are internationally trained physicians. Employers look for strong clinical knowledge plus understanding of ICD-10 coding and reimbursement systems such as MS-DRGs.
The Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) offers the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential, and AHIMA offers the Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner (CDIP), each requiring relevant experience and an exam. Many specialists start with employer training programs.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Associate's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Some preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
The work
What does a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist do?
Clinical documentation integrity specialists review the medical records of hospitalized patients while they are still in the hospital, looking for documentation that is incomplete, vague, or conflicting. When lab results, medications, or treatments suggest a condition the physician has not clearly recorded, such as sepsis or acute kidney injury, they send a compliant query asking the provider to clarify.
Accurate documentation affects how a hospital's patient severity and quality scores are reported, how the hospital is reimbursed, and how data is used for research. CDI specialists work with coders, physicians, and quality teams, track query responses, educate providers on documentation, and analyze trends.
Day-to-day tasks
- Review inpatient records for incomplete or unclear documentation
- Write compliant queries asking providers to clarify diagnoses
- Identify conditions supported by labs, medications, and treatments
- Collaborate with coders on accurate code assignment
- Educate physicians on documentation best practices
- Track query response rates and documentation trends
- Support quality reporting and risk adjustment accuracy
- Stay current on coding guidelines and regulations
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
CDI specialists work for hospitals, health systems, and consulting firms. The job is computer-based, reviewing electronic records and sending queries, so many positions are partly or fully remote. Schedules are generally regular weekday hours, with productivity targets for the number of records reviewed.
Tools and software
- Analytical or scientific software · in demand
- Business intelligence and data analysis software · in demand
- Data base management system software · in demand
- Data base reporting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code CIS) built on O*NET's Health Information Technologist and Medical Registrar profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 3 |
| Investigative | 5 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 4 |
| Enterprising | 2 |
| Conventional | 6 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
- Conventional6.0
- Investigative5.2
- Social4.1
- Realistic2.6
- Enterprising2.2
- Artistic1.2
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist
O*NET related occupations
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Health Information Technologist and Medical Registrar
$68,020median a year
Most earn $40K to $117K
+15.9%Associate's - Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Computer and Mathematical
More healthcare practitioners and technical careers
Median annual pay, with health information technologists and medical registrars highlighted
- Anesthesiologist$391,490
- Physician Assistant$135,880
- Nurse Practitioner$132,300
- Physical Therapist$102,760
- Dental Hygienist$98,100
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer$96,590
- Radiologic Technologist and Technician$80,110
- Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist$68,020
- Surgical Technologist$64,650
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiologist | $391,490 |
| Physician Assistant | $135,880 |
| Nurse Practitioner | $132,300 |
| Physical Therapist | $102,760 |
| Dental Hygienist | $98,100 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | $96,590 |
| Radiologic Technologist and Technician | $80,110 |
| Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist | $68,020 |
| Surgical Technologist | $64,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist appears on
Questions
Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist: frequently asked questions
How much do Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for health information technologists and medical registrars. It counts them within health information technologist and medical registrar, whose median pay is $68,020 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $48,940 and $95,630, and the top 10% earn $117,420 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist?
Usually a two-year degree rather than a four-year one. BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars.
Is Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 15.9% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 3,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist do?
Clinical documentation integrity specialists review the medical records of hospitalized patients while they are still in the hospital, looking for documentation that is incomplete, vague, or conflicting. A typical task: review inpatient records for incomplete or unclear documentation. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software, Data base management system software.
Which states pay Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars the most?
The highest state medians for Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars are Arkansas ($93,300), Minnesota ($90,760), California ($90,750) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialist?
O*NET scores Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars highest on the Conventional, Investigative and Social interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ISFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.