Difference between revisions of "Computer assisted coding (CAC)"

Revision as of 16:27, 2 March 2011

Computer assisted coding (CAC) in health care is an emerging technology or computerized tool that automates the coding process (such as ICD-9, and CPT) by generating a set of medical codes for review based on clinical documentation provided by health care professionals. CAC uses structured input or natural language processing (NLP). NLP is software technology that uses artificial intelligence to extract data and information from a text form and converts it to medical codes. The software used is not dependent on a fully functioning electronic health record (EHR) but as adoption of EHRs increase and organizations implement ICD-10 it is expected that implementation of CAC will also increase.

With the use of EHRs facilities are seeing a greater amount of documentation by clinicians that coders then have to read through. There is financial pressure to get claims to insurance companies as efficiently as possible. ICD-10 will also change the volume and structure of coding allowing for a higher level of specificity. For these reasons, there is a need to improve the efficiency and productivity of coding processes. CAC also allows for an easier coding audit trail. By streamlining workflows, coders then have more time to perform more complex tasks.

CAC will not eliminate coding jobs as some have feared, but it can reduce the amount of hours spent on manually assigning codes. It is expected that in the future, coders will still need to review, validate and interpret coded data and will have opportunities to get involved in more knowledge based tasks such as retrieval and analysis of aggregate data, participation with process improvement teams, and providing input on coding guidelines to name a few.

References: Rollins, Genna. "Lean Coding Machine: Facilities Target Productivity and Job Satisfaction with Coding Automation." Journal of AHIMA 81, no.7 (July 2010) Retrieved from http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/idcplg?IdcService=GET_HIGHLIGHT_INFO&QueryText=%28lean+coding+machine%29%3cand%3e%28xPublishSite%3csubstring%3e%60BoK%60%29&SortField=xPubDate&SortOrder=Desc&dDocName=bok1_047694&HighlightType=HtmlHighlight&dWebExtension=hcsp

AHIMA e-HIMTM Work Group on Computer-Assisted Coding. "Delving into Computer-assisted Coding" (AHIMA Practice Brief). Journal of AHIMA 75, no.10 (Nov-Dec 2004) retrieved from http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_025099.hcsp?dDocName=bok1_025099

Submitted by Sally Gibson