Navigating the coder shortage

Navigating the

coder shortage

The current state of medical coding

So why the shortage?

Consider outsourcing

Many outsource coding companies:

Organizations using

computer-assisted

coding (CAC) have

increased coder

productivity by more

than 30 percent.8

have established a more than

95% chart acceptance rate,

meaning insurance carriers accept



provide a one-day turnaround time,



Using CAC, medical

facilities are sending

over 60 percent of

some specialty coding

directly to billing.

(3M client data)

More than

75%

of chief financial officers

plan to leverage outsourcing

coding, revenue cycle and

transcription needs.11

By outsourcing

their coding, some

organizations have

increased their

efficiency by more

than 25 percent

78 percent of hospitals

with fewer than 200

beds attributed 6.2

percent of their revenue

increases to the decision

to outsource all or most

of their RCM operations,

according to the Black



Automate to compensate

How to respond

Potential impacts of the

coder shortage

Lack of qualied candidates

More than 90% of independent groups

and solo practices have high turnover

rates, with more than 80% experiencing



experience in ICD-10, value-based care

and MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP

Reauthorization Act).

Large-scale retirement

After the release of ICD-10, facilities

faced escalated retirement from coders

unwilling to transition from ICD-9. And

now, with an average age coder of 54,

 

Widespread electronic

health record (EHR) adoption



physicians is nearly 90% and continues

to climb, leading to massive coding

process overhauls.

Increasing

accounts receivable

Coding backlogs

cause an increase in

accounts receivable

that has a detrimental

effect on revenue and

operating income.

Increasing denials

and write-os

Hastily-assigned, inaccurate,



cause an increase in denials



over- and under-payments.

Increasing

compliance risk

Lack of oversight related to

coding and documentation

causes increased compliance

risk, including the risk of



Baby boomers

81.7 million Americans will enroll

in Medicare by 2030, up from

55 million in 2015, creating a need



the healthcare industry.



leaders report a lack of



“extremely important”

for success, such as

in-house expertise and

resources for value-

based or risk-based

payment models.



medical coding jobs will increase by 15%

from 2014 to 2024,

with an additional

9,000

new medical coding

jobs expected by 2024.

15%

Medical coding

is one o

f the

fastest growing

occupations



Sources

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cycle-functions.html

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CodeRyte

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CodeAssist

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 



30%

More than

90%

What’s next?

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Roughly

40%

of independent physicians

plan to outsource at least

part of their revenue

management.5

25% 78%

60%