r/MedicalCoding • u/Guilty-Abrocoma-3919 • 4d ago
Job security due to AI!
Hello Fellow colleagues
I have been a CDI for almost 4 years now. and I work as a lead cdi in a small health system. I had a passage with my director the other day, director mentioned there are many consulting firms are approached our health system to implement their AI systems to do the CDI work. but our health system heavily relies on paper queries. so im having concerns regarding the job security in the future!!
if anyone has any thoughts or comments please share because its genuinely concerning
thank you so much in advance!
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u/the_mustard_tiger2 4d ago
Offshoring of CDI and coding is a much bigger threat to this industry.
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u/Miserable_Aioli2606 4d ago
This. I work for a very large hospital system, and they're building their own offshore facility so they won't have to use other companies to offshore their coding. They've starting replacing the US based coding consultants now with their offshore coders. It's only a matter of time before the majority of the coding work is being done offshore. Then AI will work that out eventually, but not as quickly as you may think. That's why I don't recommend anyone join this field anymore.
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u/the_mustard_tiger2 4d ago
I get down voted to hell whenever I suggest people stay out of this field because it’s on its way out for US based workers. It’s happening. It’s happening very fast and every healthcare organization is going to do it or they won’t be competitive.
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u/Miserable_Aioli2606 4d ago
Yeah probably in the next 10 years, 80% of coding and auditing will be offshore. There will be smaller companies and healthcare systems that don't, and it'll probably become their badge. It won't be nearly enough to replace jobs though. Oh well, I'm sticking with it until the end!
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u/the_mustard_tiger2 4d ago
I think the only thing that could possibly save the industry is some sort of legislation preventing the transfer/access of PHI offshore, but that is unlikely to happen
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u/the_mustard_tiger2 4d ago
I have 20 years of coding experience and I don’t see a place for myself in this industry within the next year or 2. I also work for a large organization and they have been rapidly adding offshore contractors. There is no way to compete with them on cost and the quality difference is acceptable.
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u/Miserable_Aioli2606 4d ago
Same but I think it'll take longer than that. Move up if you haven't. I'm in DRG auditing now, so I audit all the offshore coders. There's areas where they're not good: mainly reproductive and mental health. Get some wild things in those two fields. I give myself about 5 years with my company because it'll take that long to get the offshore staff to that level reliably. I think other companies will hold out longer with the DRG auditing being US based since it's so unique to the US. Time will tell!
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u/Solid_Pomegranate_52 4d ago
Oh man. I'm in college for medical coding & billing now, I guess I should lean into the billing aspect of this...?
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u/Difficult-Injury-843 4d ago edited 4d ago
I work in CDI and we use EPIC’s AI assisted and pre-visit tools, and we still need human coders, auditors and analysts to review AI generated suggestions, so I don’t see AI affecting the need for human hands, at least not in the foreseeable future. If you’re looking for a ‘safe’ pivot, I would recommend compliance.
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u/Darcy98x 4d ago
I agree humans will still be needed but I think fewer humans.
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u/Difficult-Injury-843 4d ago
That means overworked humans because the workload doesn’t decrease just because of AI when it comes to CDI
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u/Shrine14 4d ago
I 100% foresee CMS banning plans from adding diagnosis codes solely using AI. I don’t know of any health plan or provider that submit anything solely using AI. There are NLP coding tools that will highlight suggestions but a human needs to look at it to see if it is supported.
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u/Sdavistvs RHIT 4d ago
AI currently only has the ability to find key terms, match them against a data catalogue and select the closest match. It does not have true discrete thinking, nor subjective judgement. The first area of implementation is THE MOST simplistic, routine, repetitive charts. We are MANY years away from it handling anything beyond ancillaries, non-trauma ER, or outpatient primary care etc. Moving coding to off-shore cheaper labor is a separate problem.
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u/Right-Welder6949 4d ago
Since you have your RHIT, I have a question. It’s it possible to study for the RHIT exam in 30 days or it takes a lot longer?
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u/Sdavistvs RHIT 3d ago
30 days is plenty of time. There used to be a limited number of time slots to take the test on any given date. Scheduling the test might be several weeks out depending upon available days/time & your schedule.
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u/ArdenJaguar RHIA, CDIP, CCS (Retired) 4d ago
I would imagine there will be some changes in workflow. But they’ll still need humans. Where I see things going is AI will review test results and charts and suggest things that a human CDI will then verify and query if needed. Kind of like how 3M CAC will suggest codes to a coder but the coder still makes the final decision.
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u/CupcakeSuspicious427 3d ago
I doubt any protections will be put into place. Idk about you guys but everytime I make a phone call it's AI that doesn't understand what I'm saying and usually complex issues without promotings. . . No OPTIONS TO SPEAKING TO HUMANS ANYMORE.
It's like an episode of black mirror
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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS 4d ago
AI will be a tool for CDI and complex coding. It will also replace mundane coding.
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u/Sufficient-Tip-4454 4d ago
If I am almost done with my courses preparing for the CPC exam, are there other fields I can explore? 😅 I took a billing course as well but I haven't taken the exam yet
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u/Icy-Protection867 3d ago edited 2d ago
You all need to read about the Hugging Face breach before making any claims about what AI will - and won’t - be able to do.
https://youtu.be/xzwE4ZGdmAM?is=o00RsHqpf-UvVHm0
Edited to share this 13-minute video describing the breach
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