Senior Medical Coder Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hire a senior medical coder who can defend difficult code choices, resolve documentation gaps, and help you reduce repeat coding errors.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
A senior coder should handle more than a larger queue. You need someone who recognizes unsupported codes, explains corrections, and knows when to seek clarification. We screen for that judgment through work examples, coding background, and questions about your actual service mix.
We distinguish independent coding work from audit support and team coaching.
Start with the records this person will own. Inpatient facility coding, outpatient facility coding, and professional services involve different decisions. A strong background in one area does not establish readiness for another.
Then define what makes the assignment senior. If the coder reviews colleagues’ work, ask how they explain an error without turning a review into a code substitution exercise. If they handle disputed cases, ask what evidence supports their decision. You need a defensible process, not confidence alone.
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Ask, “Walk us through a record where documentation did not support the initial code choice.” A useful answer separates documented facts from assumptions, identifies the applicable guidance, and explains whether a provider query or another review was needed. Ask, “Which coding systems and record types did you use most recently?”
- Listen for specific experience with ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, CPT, or HCPCS as relevant to your work. Confirm that recent assignments match the records you will assign.
- Ask, “How did you handle a disagreement with an auditor?” Look for references, a clear rationale, and a documented resolution. The answer should show when the coder accepted a correction and when they escalated an unresolved interpretation.
- Ask, “How do you work through a queue containing routine records and unresolved cases?” A useful answer explains tracking, escalation, and follow-up. It should not rely on leaving difficult accounts untouched while reporting only completed records.
- Ask, “What feedback did you give after finding a repeated coding error?” Look for an explanation of the underlying issue, examples colleagues could apply, and a later check for recurrence. Correcting records alone is not evidence of coaching.
- Ask, “Which credentials do you hold, and how do you maintain them?” We screen stated credentials and work history. You verify any credential your position specifies and conduct your own coding assessment using appropriate records and scoring criteria.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We look at hospital coding departments, physician groups, outpatient centers, and coding service organizations. These backgrounds can offer different exposure to documentation, specialty coding, and review practices. We ask which records candidates personally coded rather than treating an employer name as proof of relevant experience.
People may consider a move for a different specialty mix, clearer audit responsibilities, or a workable onsite or remote arrangement. We discuss those reasons alongside your queue, schedule, and reporting structure. A remote background also needs questions about approved record access, communication, and secure work practices.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is treating a credential as proof of specialty readiness. Confirm recent record types and test the coding decisions your assignment includes. Another is combining coding, appeals, auditing, and staff instruction without naming the main assignment. Candidates need to know which work takes precedence when deadlines compete.
Comparing output figures without context. Ask about record difficulty, query delays, review time, and whether reported totals included corrected or reworked accounts.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us your setting, specialties, coding systems, schedule, and review responsibilities. We screen credentials, assignment history, and fit against your stated work. Before making an offer, confirm schedule, reporting lines, and the final scope. Identify who answers coding questions and who owns provider queries.
Define the coding assignment
Agree on which qualifications are essential and which can be learned after hire.
Review relevant evidence
You interview selected candidates and run your coding assessment. Include a difficult documentation case and ask candidates to explain their reasoning, not just submit codes.
Complete the hiring decision
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
National median annual wage. SOC 29-2072, Medical Records Specialists.
BLS reports Medical Records Specialists as one occupation. It does not publish a separate wage for Senior Medical Coder, this seniority level or these engagement terms.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
Open roles
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Can an outpatient coder move into our inpatient assignment?
Possibly, but outpatient experience alone is not enough evidence. Ask about inpatient sequencing, procedure coding, and recent inpatient work, then test the record types you expect them to handle. Ask whether the role includes diagnosis sequencing, procedure coding, charge review, or denial corrections.
Should this coder also review other coders’ work?
Only if you define that responsibility and assess it separately. Ask for examples of written feedback and how disagreements reached resolution.
How should we test provider query judgment?
Use a documentation gap relevant to your services. Ask what needs clarification, why it matters, and how the candidate would follow your query process.
Does denial experience mean the coder can handle appeals?
Not necessarily: clarify whether they corrected codes, reviewed payer edits, prepared appeal support, or owned appeal submissions.
What should we settle before offering remote work?
Confirm approved access, communication hours, record security, and escalation contacts. Explain how coding reviews and unresolved accounts will be tracked.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Tell us which records need senior review and where coding decisions stall. We can help you build a search around that work.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
HIM Technician / Release of Information Specialist · Coding Supervisor
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.