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Demystifying Artificial Intelligence for Health Information Managers

By James F. Jordan

Health information managers play a critical role in health care organizations. They’re responsible for maintaining, collecting, and analyzing health records, optimizing information management systems, and ensuring quality data governance.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), health information managers now have powerful new tools to help them perform their functions more efficiently and accurately. AI systems can automate routine tasks like coding medical records, freeing up managers to focus on big-picture data analysis and strategy. AI also enables managers to spot trends and derive insights to improve care and outcomes across patient populations.

By understanding the capabilities of AI and integrating it responsibly into workflows, health information managers can transform how information is managed to serve patients and health care providers better.

This article provides a practical guide to demystifying AI and harnessing its potential to elevate the HIM profession.

Understanding AI and Its Transformational Potential
AI refers to advanced computer systems capable of performing tasks requiring human-level intelligence and adaptability. In health care, AI is being applied in diverse and innovative ways to automate high-volume routine tasks, generate sophisticated insights from complex data, and improve clinical and operational decisions.

For health information managers, AI unlocks a realm of possibilities to enhance workflows and refocus their specialized expertise on higher-value initiatives:

Natural language processing uses machine learning algorithms to extract key data from unstructured physician notes, discharge summaries, imaging reports, and other free-text documents. Natural language processing dramatically speeds documentation and coding by automatically populating discrete fields in EHRs rather than relying on manual review.

AI-powered coding assistants analyze medical record content to recommend appropriate diagnostic and procedure codes. Backed by clinical guidelines and continuously improving through machine learning, these tools reduce billing errors and free up managers to tackle more nuanced, complex coding.

AI pattern recognition applied across disparate data sources can identify inconsistencies, errors, duplication, and patients at risk. This improves data integrity for compliance and enables early interventions.

Chatbots and robotic process automation handle high-volume repetitive tasks in areas like patient appointment scheduling, insurance verification, and claim status checks—creating operational efficiencies.

In revenue cycle management, AI uncovers trends in claims denials, days in accounts receivable, bad debt, and other metrics to target process improvements. Predictive analytics identify patients prone to high costs for proactive care management.

AI solutions synthesize EHR data into customized reports and dashboards for reporting needs, tracking key performance indicators and metrics for quality improvement, regulators, and clinical decision support.

The key is thoughtfully combining AI's efficiency, scalability, and insights with human expertise, oversight, and responsibility. AI does not replace health information managers’ specialized skills—it augments them for better outcomes.

Preparing for an AI-Infused Future
While AI's potential is profound, solely relying on algorithms carries risks. AI lacks human judgment, empathy, and abstract thinking skills. Overtrusting unverified machine outputs can lead to poor and biased decisions if not carefully managed.

Instead, health information managers should focus on integrating AI as part of a hybrid model, maximizing the strengths of both human and AI. As Deloitte Insights reported in 2022, succeeding with AI requires embracing new responsibilities and skills.

This means transitioning to more strategic roles for managers as AI handles repetitive tasks like coding and data extraction. Like archaeologists shifting from digging to theorizing about ancient societies, managers must focus on big-picture governance, advanced analytics, and process improvements—while providing oversight and guardrails for AI.

Ongoing learning is essential as innovations arrive rapidly. Managers should stay on top of developments through conferences, certifications, training programs, and peer networking.

Critical skill areas to build include the following:

• data science and analytics to derive contextual insights from AI-processed information;
• cloud computing to securely manage new data pipelines;
• change management and communication to smooth departmental transitions;
• data visualization for trend identification; and
• customer experience to design human-centered AI tools.

Managers also play a key role in fostering responsible AI adoption. Developing guidelines for privacy, transparency, and ethics helps avoid biases and unintended consequences. Engaging stakeholders early when evaluating AI drives alignment.

With the right technical aptitude, adaptability, and visionary approach, health information managers can spearhead transformative change as AI evolves. By combining the best of humans and AI, they can unlock innovations to take the profession to new heights.

Realizing AI's Revolutionary Potential
The future is already here—AI represents an immense opportunity to revolutionize HIM and elevate it to unprecedented performance levels. Managers who proactively upskill, adapt to new roles and integrate AI thoughtfully as augmenting partners will thrive in this era of enhanced productivity and more meaningful work.

Specialized human oversight remains essential to steer AI's adoption responsibly. AI can fulfill its world-changing potential to improve health care with sound guidance centered on ethics and human priorities.

Health information managers are perfectly positioned to provide this crucial guidance to unlock AI's promise. With the right blend of technical prowess, leadership skills, and an innovative vision for the future, managers can elevate their profession—and health care broadly—to entirely new heights.

By fully embracing AI as a collaborative technology, not just software to be implemented, managers can redefine their roles in groundbreaking ways. AI does more than just automate tasks—it enables managers to be strategic advisors, data scientists, design thinkers, change agents, and visionaries.

The future beckons pioneers ready to grab hold of its possibilities. Health information managers can help shape it by guiding AI's transformative power through an ethical, human-centered lens. This new era requires managers to reinvent workflows, processes, and even organizational culture to optimize AI's benefits.

With AI as an augmenting partner, health information managers can catalyze profound improvements in care quality, patient outcomes, clinician satisfaction, and organizational performance. The future of health care has arrived—it's time to create it together.

— James F. Jordan is a health care and life sciences expert. He is president of StraTactic, national cochairman of the BIO Bootcamp, founder of the Healthcare Data Center, and a Distinguished Service Professor of Health Care and Biotechnology at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. For more information, visit https://jfjordan.com.