Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars

Many routine record-keeping tasks today use computer systems, and AI is gradually helping. For instance, electronic health record (EHR) systems and voice assistants can quickly pull up a chart or auto-fill forms, speeding up “documentation” steps that used to be done on paper ^[1]. New tools use natural language processing (a kind of AI) to scan records and suggest medical billing codes.

In one study, such computer-assisted coding raised coder productivity by about 20% without hurting accuracy ^[2]. Some experts even estimate that eventually most coding tasks (as much as ~88%) could be done automatically ^[2]. However, AI usually works with people, not completely alone.

A human still verifies the codes, checks that records are complete and correct, and ensures patient privacy rules are followed. Overall, technology is taking over the tedious parts of organizing and checking records, while humans do the final review and problem-solving. This means health information workers can spend more time on important thinking tasks (like fixing data mistakes or advising on record systems) rather than copying paperwork ^{[1] [2]}.

Healthcare organizations already have digital record systems and some AI tools in place ^{[1] [2]}. This makes it easier to add new AI apps. For example, secure cloud software is used in many hospitals and clinics, and built-in safeguards remove personal identifiers and encrypt data to meet privacy laws ^[1].

Huge potential savings (tens or hundreds of billions of dollars) motivate hospitals to try AI ^[2]. Yet there are reasons to adopt change slowly. Early AI projects (like voice-dictation) had very high setup costs – one report said installing voice systems once cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for a big hospital ^[2].

Hospitals also must be extra careful with patient privacy (following HIPAA rules), so new tools need testing and oversight. Staffing is another factor: these jobs are growing fast (about 15% growth expected) ^[3], so hospitals still need skilled workers. In practice, many places use AI to handle record entry and simple checks, but they still rely on humans to manage the department, train the staff, and make final decisions.

In short, AI is being added bit by bit where it can save time and reduce errors ^{[1] [2]}, but human skills like judgment, communication and data oversight remain essential.