Industry Insight

White Paper Details Technology’s Impact on CDI

AHIMA and the Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) announce a new white paper that examines how rapid advancement in health care technology is driving changes to the practice of clinical documentation integrity (CDI).

CDI is critical to the usability of medical data and ongoing efforts to improve patient care. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing, can streamline CDI initiatives, reduce administrative burden on providers, and achieve high-quality documentation. But the use of these tools requires a more sophisticated approach to assessing and incorporating them into the documentation workflow, the paper’s authors say.

The technology tools suggest query opportunities to the CDI professional based on “triggers” that are identified during an automated scan of the health record, such as documentation, vital signs, lab results, radiology findings, or medications. It’s essential, according to the authors, that CDI professionals continue to look for opportunities in the record that were not suggested by the technology: “This is especially true when the opportunities are more complex and require critical analysis by the CDI professional to determine the big picture of what is happening during the admission and the clarification needed to reflect the true cause and effect of some conditions.”

The paper also includes information on the variety of CDI-related technology solutions available, steps organizations can take to effectively evaluate new technology solutions, sample questions for vendor selection, and standards for achieving a compliant query practice.

“This white paper is a must-read for any CDI professional or health care leader,” says Tammy Combs, RN, MSN, CCS, CCDS, CDIP, CNE, a CDI practice director for AHIMA and one of the white paper’s coauthors. “Not only does it detail available technology solutions, this white paper shares strategies for assessing compliance with existing guidelines and details how CDI and coding departments can use novel technology solutions to improve CDI.”

Combs says the white paper offers some noteworthy takeaways, including insight into how CDI programs are more prevalent in inpatient settings than outpatient settings. Combs says this is because outpatient encounters are typically shorter, leaving less time for CDI review. With outpatient providers increasingly using autogenerated queries, she says the white paper suggests organizations develop policies to perform quality reviews of these technology-driven queries.

Brian Murphy, ACDIS director and a coauthor of the white paper, says it will help any CDI team improve their processes immediately.

“I’m pleased this practical resource offers base questions and guidance that can be used to help implement and support the adoption of technology solutions in CDI,” he says.

— Source: AHIMA

Voice-Based Physician Assistant Suki Receives $55 Million in Funding

Suki, a leader in voice artificial intelligence (AI) technology for health care, announces that it has closed a Series C funding round of $55 million, led by March Capital, with additional support from Philips Ventures, and all previous investors including Venrock, Flare Capital, Breyer Capital, and inHealth Ventures. The round also comprises super-angels who are leading figures in technology, health care, and finance, including Gaingels Group, Pankaj Patel (ex-chief development officer of Cisco), Andrew Deutsch (CEO of RIMA Radiology), and Russell Farscht (former managing director of The Carlyle Group).

“We are at a turning point in health care, where it’s now imperative to offer technology that improves physician burnout caused by documentation and administrative burden,” says Punit Soni, CEO of Suki. “With the strong support of our investors, Suki is poised to address this issue at an even larger scale and advance high-value, coordinated care through cutting-edge technology that integrates seamlessly into a physician’s daily practice.”

Powered by AI, Suki uses natural language processing and machine learning to create clinically accurate medical notes and streamline administrative tasks, such as retrieving patient information from the EHR or ICD-10 coding. As a true digital clinical assistant, Suki supports doctors practicing in any clinical setting, as well as any specialty, including cardiology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, pediatrics, and family medicine. Providers can use a wide variety of voice commands to complete tasks, further personalizing the voice-enabled experience and streamlining workflows.

— Source: Suki

Fortive to Acquire Provation

Fortive Corporation announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. to acquire Provation Software, a provider of clinical workflow software solutions used in hospitals and ASCs, for $1.425 billion. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Founded in 1994, Provation delivers innovative solutions to enhance clinical productivity, care coordination, and reporting and billing accuracy in order to consistently deliver high-quality patient care. Provation currently serves more than 5,000 customers and is projected to tally 2021 revenues of approximately $110 million. Provation’s comprehensive portfolio serves gastroenterology and other clinical specialties with solutions that span the entire patient procedure, from pre-op through post-op recovery and follow-up, enhancing physician efficiency and effectiveness.

According to James A. Lico, president and CEO of Fortive, “We are extremely excited to announce the pending addition of Provation to the Fortive team. Provation is a best-in-class health care software provider, delivering safe, efficient, and scalable procedure documentation and clinical decision support solutions to thousands of health systems, hospitals, and ASCs [ambulatory surgical centers].”

 “For more than 25 years, Provation has been a market leader in procedure documentation software, ensuring enhanced patient outcomes during their most critical moments,” says Daniel Hamburger, CEO of Provation. “Today we start an exciting new chapter and look forward to joining the Fortive team, furthering our vision to be the global leader in innovative health care quality and productivity.”

— Source: Fortive