Do you dream of working in the healthcare industry, but patient care isn’t exactly your thing?
Imagine being able to help people simply by working as a translator between the patient-facing professional and insurance companies, researchers, and future healthcare providers.
Now imagine being paid well with the opportunity to travel.
You’ve just dreamed up a job as a traveling medical coder.
Discover how you can embark on the journey to being a travel medical coder and how the right travel nursing agency can help you turn that dream into reality.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Travel Medical Coder?
- How To Become a Travel Medical Coder: A Look at Skills, Qualifications, Demand, and Earning Potential
- The Benefits of Working as a Travel Medical Coder
- Start Your Traveling Medical Coder Journey With Pronto
What Is a Travel Medical Coder?
A medical coder translates information from a patient’s medical records into universal medical codes to maintain accurate medical records.
Medical documents that require coding can include:
- Physician’s notes
- Lab reports
- Procedures; and
- Diagnoses
Healthcare providers and insurance companies use these standardized codes for clear, concise record-keeping and billing.
Can You Travel as a Medical Coder?
The good news is –– yes, you can travel as a medical coder.
Travel medical coders provide temporary or remote medical coding services to hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician’s offices, healthcare companies, or insurance providers.
Travel medical coders can work as contractors and freelancers for healthcare providers as an outsourced service. Some may even be able to work remotely.
Other travel medical coders work as full- or part-time employees for a staffing agency, like Trusted Nurse Staffing, that provides healthcare centers with skilled allied professionals based on a temporary need. Assignments can last anywhere from a few days to months at a time.
How To Become a Travel Medical Coder: A Look at Skills, Qualifications, Demand, and Earning Potential
Skills You Need to Become a Travel Medical Coder
The most important skill a medical coder must have is attention to detail.
Patients, healthcare providers, and insurance carriers must all rely on the completeness and accuracy of medical records. If one letter is wrong, it could result in errors in patient care and billing.
A medical coder must also be proficient in the coding systems used at healthcare facilities. There are always opportunities to learn a new system if it’s unfamiliar.
Additional key skills to have if you want to become a medical coder:
- Time management skills
- Strong communication skills
- Organizational skills
- High ethical standards
- Patience
- Knowledge or ability to learn software systems quickly
Qualifications for Travel Medical Coding
No previous experience in medical coding is required to become a medical coder. Most entry-level medical coding roles only require a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate (GED) plus experience working in the healthcare industry.
If you haven’t worked in healthcare before, a billing assistant position can help you gain indirect insight into the medical coding process.
If you aspire to a higher-earning medical coding position you will need certification. Medical coding training and certification can be obtained through an associate degree program, a medical coding program from an accredited organization, or in-house training from your employer.
According to the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), certified medical coders earned 16.6 percent more in 2024 than their non-certified colleagues.
Some of the most common certifications held by medical coders include:
- Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
- Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA)
Through certification, you’ll gain a comprehensive knowledge of the three main types of universally known medical alphanumeric codes:
- International Classification of Diseases (ICD): The World Health Organization (WHO) created this internationally used classification system for health recording and data collection. These codes can classify symptoms, diseases, illnesses, and causes of death.
- Current Procedural Terminology (CPT): CPT codes are commonly used to identify medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures and services. The American Medical Association (AMA) developed the coding system to include three categories: procedures and contemporary medical practices, clinical labs, and emerging technologies.
- Healthcare Common Procedure Coding (HCPCS): The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed this coding system to primarily help with processing insurance claims and to identify healthcare equipment, procedures, services, and supplies.
Demand for Travel Medical Coders
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts nine percent growth for medical records specialists between 2023 and 2033, with a faster growth rate than the average job growth across all occupations.
Each year almost 15,000 openings for medical records specialists are projected to replace workers who transition to other positions or retire.
If you’re looking ahead for career stability and security, the increased demand and positive outlook on future growth make a career in travel medical coding a great opportunity. Let Trusted Nurse Staffing help you find your dream allied health travel job today!
Earning Potential as a Travel Medical Coder
A traveling medical coder’s salary can vary based on the location and duration of the assignment.
In New York, for example, the average salary for a medical coder is $51,023 per year, or $981 per week with top earners making around $75,142 per year, or $1,445 per week, according to ZipRecruiter.
The average salary for a medical coding specialist in the United States is $60,464 per year or $1,106 per week. However, the average salary for a medical coder can also vary based on your experience and employer.
Pursuing postsecondary education, obtaining more professional certifications, and gaining additional years of experience can be other key ways to increase your earnings potential.
As a travel medical coder, you can choose when and where you want to work. You may find a fully remote assignment in an area with a higher pay rate, which allows you to take advantage of the higher salary without being bogged down by higher costs of living.
If you’re looking to benefit from assignments with higher income, here are the top 10 U.S. states with the highest earnings for medical coders:
- Washington – $52,822 per year
- District of Columbia – $52,702 per year
- New York – $51,023 per year
- Massachusetts – $50,934 per year
- Alaska – $50,226 per year
- Vermont – $49,588 per year
- North Dakota – $49,347 per year
- Oregon – $49,310 per year
- Colorado – $49,041per year
- Hawaii – $48,455 per year
The Benefits of Working as a Travel Medical Coder
If you’re considering a new career as a traveling allied professional or are already working as a medical coder and would like to travel while you work, the benefits are plentiful.
- Choose your work setting. Whether on-site, remote work-from-home, at the beach, or any other location you desire, the digital element of medical coding allows you to log in from any work environment. As long as there is access to the proper software systems and programs, you can remain compliant with HIPAA and Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology, so the opportunities are endless.
- Explore new places. If you’re passionate about travel, why limit yourself to one location? Working as a travel medical coder allows you to explore new places and satiate your wanderlust while still earning a living.
- Galvanize your earning potential. Rising salaries and higher-than-average growth potential expected over the next 10 years means you can take advantage of the market and potentially safeguard your career from recession.
Start Your Traveling Medical Coder Journey With Pronto
Considering the benefits, you’re probably wondering how you can begin your traveling medical coder journey.
With Pronto, brought to you by Trusted Nurse Staffing, you can find all the best travel medical coder jobs in one place. Guided by a state or specialty search, Pronto helps you find the right travel medical coder role for you. Ready to get started? Follow these simple, two-step instructions:
- Sign up for a Pronto profile and complete your profile by uploading your resume, certifications, and more.
- Pronto automatically matches with a recruiter who guides you through the job search process and recommends placements based on your preferences.
Just like that, you’re ready to begin your first assignment. But don’t worry, you’ll have continued support with your own team of experts:
- Compliance experts will help you with all the necessary facility-specific licensing and testing, at no cost to you.
- Payroll experts are available to answer any questions you may have regarding setting up payroll, salary, or anything else related to getting you paid.
- Recruitment experts act as your ongoing advocate throughout your assignment, available to support and move you forward to your next assignment when the time comes.
Plus, you’ll get a welcome box and a $1500 referral bonus for referring new allied professionals or a healthcare facility.
And if you’re content savvy, we offer an ambassador program with rewards for creating digital content for allied health travel.
So what are you waiting for? Partner with Trusted Nurse Staffing — the traveling medical coder job of your dreams awaits!