Providers have placed a strong reliance on EHR, RCM and coding outsourcing vendors, according to a recent Black Book report.

Twenty-two percent of respondents that outsource part of their coding and HIM processes admit not taking any other measure to adjust their revenue cycle to account for potential negative effects and reporting after October 1 besides trusting their managed services vendors.

"Top vendors have the financial stability and commitment to innovation, which means helping improve clinical care and business, not just inserting codes," said Doug Brown, Black Book managing partner. 

[Live ICD-10 updates: Get the latest news, reactions to the code change.]

"ICD-10 is more than just a coding issue," Brown said in a news release. "Clinical documentation improvements, charge capture processes, and medical necessity determinations all will affect revenue and cash flow."

91 vendors were evaluated on 18 key performance indicators across four functional areas of coding outsourcing. The No.1 ranked vendors for 2015 were identified as follows:

• Optum360 – Hospital Computer Assisted Coding, Medical Records & HIM Outsourcing
• Health Information Resource Group – Physician Practice CAC and HIM Outsourcing
• M*Modal – Transcription Outsourcing
• Nuance – Clinical Documentation Improvement

"The delays in transitioning to ICD-10 has made many providers fervent proponents of coding and health information management outsourcing. The anticipated investment in coding technology without services that the industry was tracking two years ago has shifted significantly," Brown added. "Not everyone is upset with the increase of coding specificity and complexity. Adding coding expertise via outsourced services has eased the anxiety for many providers as well as using some form of computer assisted coding."