94% of Users Would Buy Computer-Assisted Coding Solution Again

Computer-assisted coding solutions did not live up to user expectations when first released, but a new KLAS research report showed that hospitals and health systems are just now starting to see a return on investment.

To help healthcare organizations understand what outcomes are possible with a computer-assisted coding solution and how vendors are helping organizations realize those outcomes, KLAS interviewed users of computer-assisting coding solutions from four vendors: 3M, Dolbey, Optum, and ezDI.

The interviews revealed that 94 percent of users would purchase their computer-assisted coding solution again, and customer satisfaction with market leaders has increased.

Users reported greater satisfaction with computer-assisted coding solutions from 3M and Optum, which are currently two of the largest market players and are slated to remain heavy-hitters until 2025.

Specifically, users applauded 3M for improving its support structure over the last year and others commended the vendor for improvements to the implementation and upgrade processes, which have been a challenge for 3M in the past.

Optum also improved its support, according to this year’s users who said support become more consistent and reliable. Users also praised the vendor’s training programs.

While user satisfaction has generally improved for the two vendors over the past three years, some user groups are still left wanting, KLAS reported.

Specifically, larger organizations were less satisfied with 3M’s computer-assisted coding solution. Users from these organizations wanted more knowledgeable and experienced implementation resources, as well as more proactive training. Larger organizations also wished the solution worked better on the outpatient side.

Larger organizations were Optum’s customer base, KLAS found. No small or mid-sized organizations interviewed reported using Optum for computer-assisted coding.

Optum users also expressed concerns about the solution’s lack of benchmarking data, which may impede an organization’s ability to improve coding accuracy.

3M and Optum users may want to see some improvements from the vendors. But deep adopters, or organizations identified by their vendor or KLAS as fully leveraging the capabilities of computer-assisted coding technology, experienced better outcomes than their peers.

KLAS found that financial outcomes, coding productivity and workflow, coder accuracy, and quality measurement improved for more than 76 percent of Optum’s deep adopters.

Coder productivity and coder accuracy also improved for over 76 percent of 3M’s deep adopters. Otherwise, between 51 percent and 75 percent reported better financial outcomes and quality measurement.

Market heavy hitters are remaining competitive by improving user satisfaction, but Dolbey, a small health IT vendor, is giving the large companies a run for their money.

More organizations implemented Dolbey’s computer-assisted coding solution in the past year, KLAS reported. The small vendor’s solution also outperformed those from 3M and Optum in most individual metrics and was more consistent at helping users realize outcomes, the report stated.

“Customers highlight quality training, strong implementations, and good integration with EMRs and other HIM software,” KLAS wrote. “Additionally, the product is easy to use, leading to improved quality and productivity. Customers also say Dolbey provides excellent customer support and helps customers optimize their use of the software. Many customers are looking forward to the latest version; those who have already made the jump report functionality improvements.”

However, some users expressed a desire to see faster innovation from the small vendor.

Market newcomer ezDI, on the other hand, experienced issues this past year. KLAS found that the vendor had a small user base although the limited number of users did report a high level of support. Users also reported issues with the solution’s EHR integration capabilities.

The smaller vendors also helped their deep adopters achieve outcomes, KLAS reported.

Over 75 percent of Dolbey deep adopters reported improved financial outcomes, coder productivity and workflow, and coder accuracy. Between 51 percent and 75 percent of Dobley’s deep adopters also reported improved quality measurement.

ezDI was less successful improving financial outcomes, with less than half of deep adopters saying the solution helped in that area. However, more than half of ezDI’s deep adopters did find that the solution improved coder productivity and accuracy, as well as quality measurement.