What are the Implications in the Medical Coding World?
Over the last many months, there has been plenty of commentary on blockchain technologies, crypto, and digital assets. Starting as far back as 2017, I was engaging in discussions with industry colleagues regarding how blockchain might impact the world of healthcare, specifically the world of medical coding and revenue cycle management.
Gartner followers and tech aficionados may be familiar with the “Hype Cycle” model or the more well-known “Technology Adoption Lifecycle” popularized by Geoffrey Moore. Whatever model you may look to, I would venture to say that we are in the very early innings, maybe even the first at-bat, in the first inning, as it relates to the usage of blockchain in the healthcare ecosystem.
#1 Importance of Consensus Mechanisms
In the HIM space, there are a host of partners that collaborate to ensure a patient's care is properly accounted for and paid for. These collaborators could include the physician group that is contracted to the hospital, the front-desk and registration personnel collecting data, the 3rd party that validates insurance information, the outsourced medical coding entity that assigns codes based on the clinical documentation, the biller, the insurance entity, and the collections companies that seek out unpaid medical bills. It certainly takes a village.
#2 Interoperability
For years, maybe decades, HIM organizations have struggled with the ability to properly interact and exchange important data with other organizations. In some ways, this issue has been made worse by EMR companies seeking to handle every conceivable function required by a modern-day healthcare operator.
#3 Automation
Blockchain and it’s adoption in healthcare will allow AI to increase in adoption within the healthcare market. Imagine having a medical coding operation that utilizes both machine capabilities (autonomous coding) and human expertise.
On the QueueLogix side, we have embarked on a very exciting project to take our flagship application, EventCare, and explore what is possible with customers who are interested in further securing their HIM, coding and revenue cycle operations with blockchain modalities.
To know more, visit our website: https://queuelogix.com/blockchain-its-implications-in-the-medical-coding-world/
