What does the changing coder landscape look like?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates medical coding jobs will increase by 13% from 2016 – 2026, with an additional 27,800 new medical coding jobs expected by 2026.

The demand for coders, combined with a lack of qualified candidates, have contributed to why 31% of health care leaders report staffing challenges, and why 80% of hospital leaders are considering revenue cycle management outsourcing.

By outsourcing their medical coding with 3M, these three organizations have successfully navigated the changing coder landscape.

Location: Southwestern U.S.
Type: Academic, multi-hospital integrated delivery network
Annual admissions: 200,000+
Beds: 5,000+ 

Difficulty recruiting, training and retaining. High employee turnover. Scheduling conflicts. These internal issues resulted in low staff productivity, inability to handle coding volume and an opportunity to improve coding quality.

“Even when you educate from within and grow your own coders, that doesn’t mean you can keep them.” – Hospital coding director

To handle the volume of coding support needed, this organization successfully deployed outsourced facility, professional and specialty coders, as well as experienced auditors from 3M.

What benefits has the organization seen?

• • Quality and turnaround time expectations were achieved
  • Access to a wider range of skilled professionals than was available locally
  • Quick adoption of new coding technology

Location: Southwestern U.S. 
Type: Specialty hospital with multiple facilities
Annual admissions: 13,000+ 
Beds: 400+ 

Changing Medicaid payment models, the ICD-10 transition and seasonal fluctuations were straining processes, causing backlog and threatening this hospital’s productivity. The hospital needed additional coding support.

However, recent state regulations prohibited overseas outsourcing. The organization either had to recruit an internal coding team or find a domestic outsourcing vendor. Two dedicated coders from 3M were assigned to code outpatient surgeries. Supplemental coding support from 3M allowed the hospital to get back on track without having to recruit, hire and then terminate temporary personnel.

What improvements has the hospital seen?

• • Consistency in coding quality
  • Improved turnaround time
  • Reduced backlog

Location: Southern U.S.
Type: Multi-hospital organization
Annual admissions: 150,000+
Beds: 4,000+ 

Challenges with unbilled revenue and coding quality sparked the need for an improved coding quality program. This organization recruited a new coding director through 3M’s outsourced coding services to help.

The new 3M coding director transformed operations by:

As the relationship between 3M and this organization grows, the current coding staff continues to undergo performance improvement education. 3M continues to supply outsourced staffing to help the organization reach the goal of elevating its current operations.

• • Identifying needed educators, auditors and additional coders
  • Implementing a more robust quality and education program for existing coding staff
  • Standardizing work processes to lower DNFB days