Should Medical Coders Be Afraid of ChatGPT Taking Their Jobs?

by  Find-A-Code™
Aug 7th, 2023

ChatGPT, the artificially intelligent chatbot developed by OpenAI took the world by storm through the first six months of 2023. It seems like everyone who is anyone is talking about it and its potential to disrupt just about everything. Will ChatGPT and similar technologies have any impact on medical coding? Should coders be afraid of losing their jobs to machines?

It is tempting to assume that artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) will eliminate all sorts of jobs human beings currently do. But before succumbing to that temptation, consider similar fears about robotics that were circulating 30 years ago.

Robots have been given an increasingly larger role in manufacturing and a handful of other processes. But they haven't put millions of people out of work. Robots are no doubt handy tools, but companies still need human beings on staff. It is likely that medical coding will experience something similar with AI and NLP.

What ChatGPT Actually Does

Perhaps much of the fear surrounding ChatGPT is a direct result of not understanding what it does. Neither the application nor any other AI tool is capable of thinking independently. At best, the tools are able to scrape information from a variety of sources, analyze that information, and spit out a response. That is exactly what ChatGPT does.

ChatGPT utilizes NLP to artificially 'understand' what humans want to know when they ask questions. But its understanding is based solely on the information programmed into it. AI tools are not capable of rational thought. They are not capable of understanding what they don't know or how to find out that they do not know something.

When a user asks ChatGPT a question, the software relies on NLP to understand intent. Based on that understanding, it begins scouring its databases in search of information that could answer the question. It then uses NLP to craft a response that mimics human conversation. As complicated as it is at a technical level, ChatGPT's abilities are simple to understand at a practical level.

Its Use in Medical Coding

Despite its limitations, ChatGPT and similar AI programs do have legitimate applications in medical coding. At the very top of the list is insuring more accurate translations of clinician notes into actual billing codes. Right now, this task is left largely to human beings. It is a tedious task that is exceptionally prone to misunderstandings, poor translations, and outright errors.

Because AI and NLP can gather and analyze data at an extremely high rate of speed, it is possible to program a bot to analyze a clinician's notes, compare them against a ton of known data points, and spit out the correct billing codes – at least most of the time.

The end result is more accurate codes that lead to more accurate bills and more timely payments. But billing departments will not be able to turn everything over to AI bots and forget about it. Codes will still have to be verified for accuracy.

Streamlining Through Automation

Another benefit of ChatGPT in the medical coding space is automated code lookup. Whether it is CPT, ICD-10, or even NPI lookup, an automated tool utilizing AI and NLP eliminates the need for human workers to spend so much time researching unfamiliar codes.

ChatGPT and similar tools will undoubtedly change the way medical coding and billing are addressed. But the chances of technology completely eliminating human workers are pretty slim. Remember that computerized machines can only do what they are programmed to do. As such, they will never have the same capabilities as the human brain. You can take that to the bank.