Whereas ICD-10 invariably gets its share of attention, technologies ancillary to the code conversion but likely to prove at least as transformative are also along for the ride.

Take clinical documentation improvement and natural language processing tools, for instance.

"CDI is all about shrinking the time when complete, accurate documentation is available to use — whether that is in the EHR or in analytics or in the revenue cycle for billing," says Precyse CEO Chris Powell.

To that end, the company will be showcasing a new release of its technology platform at HIMSS15 in April. The workflow platform, enabled to use Natural Language Processing, is geared toward clinical documentation improvement, case management and computer-assisted coding.

"Population health management initiatives, along with mobility and analytics, are going to make a splash at HIMSS,” Powell predicts. Moreover, with the rise of accountable care organizations and other cross-continuum initiatives, documentation must flow seamlessly throughout enterprises, from hospitals to physician practices.

"We've seen a huge upsurge in services and technology to support CDI programs, and the workflow between physicians, coders and clinical documentation specialists," Powell says. He adds that the Precyse CDI application supports inpatient and outpatient workflows.

Precyse also believes that impending transition to ICD-10 promises to drive better quality of care and more accurate reimbursement via the code set’s much-touted granularity and specificity.

Accordingly, the company is also expanding Precyse University, its ICD-10 educational content platform, with a next-generation product christened Precyse DNA, short for "determine, nurture and accelerate."

Precyse DNA, which works on mobile devices, provides education based on individual assessments and an analytics engine that enables organizations to determine the effectiveness of programs.

The assessment tools cover provider and coder documentation skills, as well as CDI specialist coding knowledge. When deficiencies are identified, targeted courses can be launched for those individuals who are having problems — instead of putting all personnel through training on a particular topic.

"When you think about ICD-10 implementation and all the additional information we're going to have, the ability to be very targeted in training is going to get people more engaged,” Powell explains. “As a result, they will be more effective and deliver results faster.” 

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