For their first new post-acquisition technology, 3M Health Information Systems and M*Modal have unveiled a clinical documentation improvement tool that uses artificial intelligence to boost speed and efficiency for clinicians and coders.

WHY IT MATTERS
3M M*Modal CDI Engage One uses AI and natural language understanding technologies to deliver real-time clinical insight to clinicians, clinical documentation improvement specialists and coding teams.

CDI Engage One, deployed via a cloud-based platform, integrates with the 3M 360 Encompass  computer-assisted coding and CDI workflow system, offering quality metrics and analytics. Together, the tools offer more efficient back-end CDI processes, helping health systems and save hours of manual review with CDI worklist prioritization, streamlined queries and clinical evidence-based documentation analysis, according to 3M.

The platform embeds AI-powered clinical intelligence into both standard physician and CDI workflows, analyzing electronic health record notes and clinical data to find gaps and deficiencies before notes are saved to the EHR.

The AI technology can help streamline document creation and enable physicians to capture a more complete and accurate patient story – boosting quality outcomes, improving revenue integrity, reducing administrative burden and allowing for more facetime with patients.

THE LARGER TREND
3M announced its $1 billion acquisition of M*Modal's cloud-based AI technology in 2018, the same year a new CMS rule proposed rule more rigorous CDI requirements. (The Carnegie Mellon spinoff said it would maintain its transcription, scribing and coding business.)

"By combining capabilities, we can more quickly deliver on our mission of bringing conversational AI and ambient intelligence directly into clinical workflows," said M*Modal President Michael Finke at the time.

This week at Health 2.0 in Santa Clara, California, Mayo Clinic CIO Cris Ross sang the praises of AI, touting its near-term potential to transform and improve a host of clinical processes. "This artificial intelligence stuff is real," he said. "Most of this stuff is on a spectrum somewhere from discovery to translation to application."

ON THE RECORD
"With M*Modal now part of 3M, we are bringing together our advanced technologies to close the loop between advancing clinical care and achieving revenue integrity," said 3M Health Information Systems President Mark Colin, in a statement. "CDI Engage One is the first result of our joint efforts to develop innovative products that transform the revenue cycle and help our customers succeed in a value-based care environment."

"Together, we are committed to transforming the experience of health care by proactively engaging physicians with real-time Computer-Assisted Physician Documentation to bridge gaps in patient care and clinical documentation integrity," said Finke, now a vice president at 3M Health Information Systems.