Geisinger reports positive results with computer-assisted and NLC-driven intelligent workflow solution

Geisinger Health System, widely recognized for its implementation of innovative care models, is among the first healthcare organizations in the nation to deploy advanced technology that combines a Computer-Assisted Coding application with Natural Language Comprehension™ (NLC) in order to improve clinical documentation and coding accuracy. Just six months after announcing its partnership with Precyse, a leader in health information management (HIM) services and technologies, Geisinger has announced that it is already achieving positive results with precyseCode™, the industry's first computer-assisted and NLC-driven intelligent workflow solution. This powerful combination provides a single, comprehensive platform to optimize coding processes, accelerate revenue cycles, and support healthcare organizations as they navigate compliance challenges, Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) initiatives, migrate to ICD-10, and meet health reform and Meaningful Use initiatives head on.

The Power of Natural Language Comprehension Outpaces Coding-Only Solutions

Driven by state-of-the-art technologies that process and understand human voice, converting it to structured and tagged text and transforming it into actionable information, precyseCode features Computer-Assisted Coding that uses NLC to create a patient's clinical story, allowing for the assignment of appropriate, compliant ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis codes, procedure codes and SNOMED (Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine) clinical terminology. NLC is achieved through the unique combination of M*Modal's contextual understanding technology with Precyse's collaborative technology platform and extensive coding and clinical documentation expertise. The NLC capability reads both structured and unstructured data and reorganizes it into better, more understandable information that supports powerful capture and interpretation of clinical findings. This episode-specific patient narrative is then electronically tagged to be easily searched, mined and analyzed. Since precyseCode already includes SNOMED and ICD-10 codes, it allows coders to begin learning ICD-10 immediately, offsetting any anticipated declines in productivity and assuring a smooth transition in October 2013.

PrecyseCode at Geisinger: One System to Optimize Coding Processes, Improve Workflow & Accelerate ICD-10 Transition

At Geisinger, precyseCode is being implemented to bridge the electronic health record (EHR), dictation, transcription, coding and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) processes by capturing, editing, coding, and directing physician dictation into Geisinger's EHR software platform. Geisinger physicians will be able to dictate directly into the EHR with minimal impact to their current workflow patterns. Clinical information is electronically tagged to be easily searched, mined and analyzed by healthcare team members responsible for driving hospital care and outcomes. Geisinger and Precyse aim to see this collaborative technology replicated across the country.

"We made the decision to partner with Precyse because we shared in their vision about how Natural Language Comprehension could be applied to CAC technology to significantly accelerate the revenue cycle," said Barbara Tapscott, Vice President Revenue Cycle, Geisinger Health System. "Though we are still early on in our implementation of precyseCode, the results we are achieving thus far are already validating our combined vision. I have no doubt that the improvement will continue and that we will be well prepared for ICD-10 and other challenges on the horizon."

"What we are achieving at Geisinger Health System with precyseCode is truly unique," said Ken Lacy, President and General Manager of Precyse Advanced Technologies, the R&D division of Precyse. "There are a multitude of coding-only solutions in the market right now, but what makes precyseCode different is that it is the only platform available that goes beyond coding to unify and optimize the entire clinical documentation workflow process. By integrating NLC, precyseCode provides a distinct advantage in coding quality and productivity, taking into account workflow preferences to help people do their work faster and more accurately. We've already seen 20% increases in coder productivity with precyseCode, and we expect that figure to climb as high as 50% as the system 'learns' from its earlier coding assignments."