AI has transformed nearly all aspects of human life. From mundane tasks such as movie recommendations to critical matters such as detecting cancer, AI has proved to be a valuable tool in almost all aspects of life where once the total dependency was on a human hand and brain. The task of AI is to make any complex job easier and faster, and more precise.
Medical billing and coding is a domain that requires or rather demands many person-hours. It’s a hands-on task where it is essential that a line of individuals is connected and the processes are followed to the T for it to give flawless results. The domain has been waiting to be disrupted by AI.
Medical coding is a process by which medical procedure-related information is converted into universal codes. The outcome of this activity is the standardization of medical information. Traditionally, specialized medical coders have performed the task of converting medical information to codes. Individuals who choose to work in this profession need to have a background in medicine and undergo hours of training to perform the task of medical coding. As with any job that humans perform, there are certain constraints related to speed and accuracy.
And the fact that this isn’t an individual’s job and requires a string of individuals to do their task with accuracy for the result to be prompt is quite a tedious process. Despite these medical coders putting in most of the effort to make sure the process is smooth, there are bound to be errors because of its high dependency on payers, Physician prescriptions, LCD Guidelines, etc.
Besides this, Medical procedures are often enhanced, new guidelines come in and many codes are generated and added. Keeping track of this becomes difficult or rather time-consuming. The level of experts in the market is less than that of new codes and procedures that get added on. To make sure there is no break in the chain of work, AI can be used to bridge this gap.
AI bridges this gap by simplifying medical billing processes, and it also significantly reduces error rates in medical coding. Speed of medical coding is another factor that AI dramatically improves compared to human coding. It ensures that the lead time required for the medical coding process is kept to a minimum.
The error rate also falls drastically as it’s automated and recognizing the right code for the correct procedure is machine-driven. AI also helps in keeping the whole process uniform. Updating the same with new information is a click away. The constant updating and up gradation further become a boon to the medical billing and coding process. Time is of utmost importance. Where humans can put in some hours a day to work, AI can continuously work in the background.
Medicines and medical procedures keep changing from time to time and as much as possible, and however possible, it is impossible to have experts on every design. Humans spend time understanding the system, which eats into the coding and billing process. With AI, the updating, billing, and coding process can be done simultaneously, ensuring that all is in order. It is also easy for AI to red flag claims and keeps track of end dates for shares and other processes.