The past three years has witnessed tremendous growth in the use of computer-assisted coding (CAC) systems. Many hospitals, physician practices, and health systems moved forward with CAC implementation after the ICD-10 rollout continued with delays. According to several, 2017 research reports, the CAC industry is expected to see continued adoption with the overall market rising to $5.1 billion by 2023.

What does this mean for the Coding professional moving to more automated coding? Many Coders recognize the benefits of automated coding systems, however, for the most part, the emotions on this discussion have been negative. In the fact, the perception is that upper management doesn’t understand the complexity of a coder’s job, that “the financial people just don’t get it”. Even though there is some wonder and excitement in response to the new technology, there is still the worry on behalf of coders, that the impact of technology on their job security would suggest the phasing out of a manual coder.

Ms. Fletcher talks through this perception and attempts to put the coder’s fears aside to reassure them that automated coding will not entirely replace coding professionals. Computers should be viewed as another tool to aid in the coding process, increase efficiency, and actually improve coding skills as we move toward these advancements.

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