Benefits of computer-assisted coding technology.

The adoption of CAC has shown benefits beyond improved coding accuracy and productivity. To completely estimate the technological impact, 3M commissioned a survey of US hospitals and health systems.

FREMONT, CA: Computer-assisted coding (CAC) that started as a way to help clinical coders handle ever-increasing complexity in their workloads has now grown into a technology solution that provides benefits across whole organizations. The technological advancements have not only caused several separate and disparate processes of coding and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) workflow overall but also enabled them to automate the assignment of codes.  Hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region are now seeking CAC solutions that leverage their existing platforms to improve productivity as there is growing adoption of EMRs.

The adoption of CAC has shown benefits beyond improved coding accuracy and productivity. To completely estimate the technological impact, 3M commissioned a survey of US hospitals and health systems. The goal was to understand the benefits of CAC technology to health information management and revenue cycle leaders at these organizations. This survey showed that the CAC technology improves productivity and key quality metrics while reducing the need for outsourcing and reworking claims, also promotes financial success. Around 68 percent reported that CAC solutions improved productivity and added that organizations will gain higher if they adapt and familiarize themselves with CAC technology. Furthermore, CAC solutions were also found to have a significant impact on quality and complexity capture. Organizations were allowed to put more focus on quality metrics and improve their accuracy and reliability as superior CDI and coding abilities translate into cleaner codes the first time. In the same survey, 65 percent responded that CAC also helps to improve quality measures.