abstractors

An abstractor is a professional who compiles concise summaries of information drawn from longer records or documents. Abstractors work across several fields, most commonly in real estate and healthcare, where accurate extraction of key data is essential to legal, clinical, and research processes.

In real estate, a title abstractor searches public records to establish ownership history and identify encumbrances such as liens, mortgages, or easements. The resulting title abstract or report summarizes findings relevant to transfer, insurability, and risk. They are usually employed by title companies, law firms, or lenders and must be familiar with local recording practices and property law.

In healthcare and research, clinical data abstractors extract predefined data elements from medical records or trial documents to populate databases or registries. They aim for accuracy and consistency and operate under privacy rules such as HIPAA. Training covers data definitions, coding systems (ICD, CPT, SNOMED), and the use of electronic data capture tools, dictionaries, and quality-control procedures such as double data entry.

Skills common to both roles include attention to detail, organization, and knowledge of relevant regulations and ethics. The field has evolved with digitization, adopting standardized forms and software to support efficient, auditable data abstraction.