--- title: "AI in Medical Coding: Where Health Systems and Hospitals Stand in 2026" description: Explore Nym’s AHIMA26 survey findings on AI medical coding adoption, staffing models, and expectations for future coding roles at health systems and hospitals. image: https://blog.nym.health/hubfs/AI%20in%20Medical%20Coding_%20Where%20Health%20Systems%20and%20Hospitals%20Stand%20in%202026%20(1).png --- [![Num](https://blog.nym.health/hubfs/NYM_March2019%20Theme/Images/nym-logo%20(1).png)](https://nym.health/) - Autonomous Medical Coding - [Overview](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/overview/) - [Nym's Engine](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/nym-engine/) - [The Technology](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/the-technology/) - [Implementation](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/implementation/) - [Why Nym](https://nym.health/why-nym/) - Company - [About](https://nym.health/about/) - [Press Releases](https://nym.health/press-release/) - [Careers](https://nym.health/careers/) - Resources - [Autonomous Coding Education Hub](https://nym.health/education-hub/) - [Content Library](https://nym.health/resources/) - [Contact](https://nym.health/contact-us/) - [Request a Demo](https://nym.health/request-a-demo/) ### Request a Demo Blog # AI in Medical Coding: Where Health Systems and Hospitals Stand in 2026 By Julien Dubuis, Chief Commercial Officer October 15, 2026 • 6 min read ![Image of someone filling out a survey](https://blog.nym.health/hs-fs/hubfs/AI%20in%20Medical%20Coding_%20Where%20Health%20Systems%20and%20Hospitals%20Stand%20in%202026%20(1).png?width=1200&height=500&name=AI%20in%20Medical%20Coding_%20Where%20Health%20Systems%20and%20Hospitals%20Stand%20in%202026%20(1).png) ## survey highlights - 51% of health system and hospital respondents from AHIMA26 were evaluating vendors or live with some form of AI medical coding - Respondents whose organizations outsource some coding were about twice as likely to report evaluating vendors or using AI medical coding - Reviewing and auditing AI-assigned codes was the most common expectation for coders’ future responsibilities On this page - - - [mailto:https://blog.nym.health/ai-medical-coding-adoption-survey-2026](mailto:https://blog.nym.health/ai-medical-coding-adoption-survey-2026) At the AHIMA 2026 Annual Conference, we wanted to get a clearer picture of how AI is showing up in everyday coding operations. Where are organizations in the adoption process? How are they staffing coding today? And what do the people doing and managing that work expect to change? To help answer these questions, we asked health information management (HIM), coding, and revenue cycle professionals who visited our booth to share their perspectives. We collected more than 140 responses, including 86 from professionals at health systems and hospitals. Their answers show where respondents’ organizations stand with AI medical coding, how adoption differs across staffing models, and how they expect coding responsibilities to change.   ## Where are health systems and hospitals in their AI medical coding journey? We asked respondents from health systems and hospitals where their organizations stood with AI in coding. Their answers ranged from not exploring the technology to already using it. Where health systems and hospitals stand with AI medical coding 51% were evaluating vendors or already live with some form of AI medical coding. - Not currently exploring AI medical coding 18% - Actively researching AI medical coding 31% - Evaluating AI medical coding vendors 29% - Live with some form of AI medical coding 22% Base: 77 health-system and hospital respondents reporting an adoption stage; excludes nine “not sure” or “doesn’t apply” responses. Most respondents reported some activity around AI medical coding, but research and vendor evaluation were more common than live use. Nearly a third were still researching their options, while just over one in five reported a live deployment. Those live deployments include both AI-assisted and autonomous medical coding. In an AI-assisted workflow, coders review suggested codes before billing; in an autonomous workflow, the solution completes coding without coder review for the encounters it processes. Understanding that difference helps leaders compare how organizations are using AI and what work remains with their coding teams. ## How are health systems and hospitals running their coding department? We also asked how coding is staffed today. Most respondents described a hybrid operation rather than a purely in-house or fully outsourced one. How coding is staffed today - Mostly in-house, some outsourcing 49% - All in-house 35% - Mostly outsourced 17% Base: 84 health-system and hospital respondents reporting a staffing model. Percentages total 101% because of rounding. Among respondents whose organizations outsource any portion of their coding, 61% reported evaluating vendors or already using AI medical coding, compared with 32% of those whose organizations keep coding entirely in-house. Live use was also more common in the outsourcing group: 29%, compared with 8% in the all-in-house group. We believe experience overseeing outsourced coding may help teams prepare for AI adoption. Teams that manage a coding partner already need to define which encounters the partner handles, establish quality standards, and monitor performance. Those same practices help teams evaluate and oversee an AI coding solution. That experience may help explain the difference we saw among respondents, although the survey cannot establish the cause or tell us whether the pattern holds nationally. ## What are the future roles and responsibilities of coders alongside AI? We asked what a coder would spend most of their day doing three years from now. Among respondents who selected a future role, reviewing and auditing AI-assigned codes was the clear majority answer, chosen three times as often as any other option. What respondents expect a coder to spend most of their day doing three years from now - Reviewing and auditing codes assigned by AI 60% - Coding the complex cases AI cannot handle 19% - Coding charts much like today 19% - CDI, denials, or other revenue cycle work 3% Base: 117 respondents selecting a future role; excludes 26 “not sure” responses. Percentages total 101% because of rounding. Coders and coding managers were more likely than leaders to expect reviewing and auditing AI-assigned codes to become a coder’s primary responsibility. Among those who selected a future role, 70% of coders and coding managers chose reviewing and auditing, compared with 59% of HIM, revenue cycle, and other leaders. Leaders were also more likely to be unsure how the role would change. Looking at all respondents in each role group, 25% of leaders selected “not sure,” compared with 9% of coders and coding managers. Expectations also differed by adoption stage. Among respondents who selected a future role, 67% at organizations evaluating vendors or already using AI medical coding chose reviewing and auditing, compared with 53% at organizations still researching or not exploring the technology. These answers describe expectations rather than confirmed changes to coding jobs. They also combine two activities with different implications for staffing: reviewing suggested codes before billing and auditing autonomously coded encounters for quality oversight. Leaders planning for either workflow need to define the responsibilities involved and the training their teams will need. ## What do these findings mean for coding leaders? For HIM and revenue cycle leaders, the next step depends on whether their organization is researching, evaluating, or already using AI medical coding. **If you’re researching:** define the coding problem you want to solve and understand how different technologies would change your workflow. [Cutting Through AI Hype: The 3 Tiers of Medical Coding Automation](https://blog.nym.health/cutting-through-ai-hype-medical-coding-automation) explains the differences among CAC, AI-assisted coding, and autonomous coding. **If you’re evaluating:** ask vendors to show how their solutions would meet your requirements for accuracy, traceability, exception handling, and human review. [10 Questions to Ask Autonomous Coding Vendors](https://blog.nym.health/10-questions-to-ask-autonomous-coding-vendors-and-why-they-matter/) provides a checklist. **If you’re live:** assess performance against your intended workflow, including which encounters still require manual work and why. For autonomous coding deployments, [Autonomous Coding in Practice](https://go.nym.health/live-session-autonomous-coding-in-practice/) covers production success and ongoing oversight. **At every stage:** involve coders and coding leaders in planning how responsibilities will change and what training will be needed. The [AHIMA fireside chat on the people side of autonomous coding](https://go.nym.health/fireside-chat-the-people-side-of-autonomous-coding/) shares how HIM leaders at Intermountain and OSU Physicians approached those decisions. ## About the survey Nym conducted a voluntary booth survey at AHIMA26, October 4–6, 2026. The analysis includes 143 relevant professional responses, excluding consultants, vendors, students, and entries without an identified relevant role. Adoption and staffing findings focus on 86 respondents classified as working at health systems or hospitals. Organization type was determined separately from the survey. Counts represent respondents, not distinct organizations. Adoption findings use 77 responses, staffing findings use 84, and the staffing-by-adoption comparison uses 76, excluding “not sure” and “doesn’t apply” answers. Future-role findings include 117 respondents who selected a role, excluding 26 who were unsure. Comparisons by professional role and adoption stage also exclude unsure answers; percentages reporting uncertainty use all respondents in each professional role group. Results are self-reported and reflect a self-selected conference sample, not industry-wide adoption rates. ![Photo of Julien Dubuis, Chief Commercial Officer](https://blog.nym.health/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-05-07%20at%201.21.33%20PM.png?width=80&height=80&name=Screenshot%202025-05-07%20at%201.21.33%20PM.png) #### Julien Dubuis, Chief Commercial Officer Julien is Chief Commercial Officer at Nym (CCO), where he leads the sales and marketing teams to drive commercial growth. Julien brings extensive healthcare experience to Nym, having previously served as Vice President of Sales at Clarify Health. In this role, Julien led all of Clarify’s provider-related sales efforts with large health systems and academic medical centers while also overseeing key account expansion. Prior to Clarify, Julien worked as a project leader at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he focused on the intersection of technology and life sciences. ### Questions? Get in Touch with Nym's Team [![nym health](https://blog.nym.health/hubfs/NYM_March2019%20Theme/Images/nym-logo.png)](https://nym.health/) ## Autonomous Medical Coding - [Overview](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/overview/) - [Nym's Engine](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/nym-engine/) - [The Technology](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/the-technology/) - [Implementation](https://nym.health/autonomous-medical-coding/implementation/) ## Company - [Why Nym](https://nym.health/why-nym/) - [Autonomous Coding Education Hub](https://nym.health/education-hub/) - [Content Library](https://nym.health/resources/) - [About](https://nym.health/about/) - [Press Releases](https://nym.health/press-release/) - [Careers](https://nym.health/careers/) - [Contact](https://nym.health/contact-us/) ## Visit Us [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/nym/) Facebook ### © NYM All rights reserved - [Terms & Conditions](https://nym.health/terms-conditions/) - [Privacy Policy](https://nym.health/privacy-policy/) - [Cookie Policy](https://nym.health/cookie-policy/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Julien Dubuis, Chief Commercial Officer", "url" : "https://blog.nym.health/author/julien-dubuis-chief-commercial-officer" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-15T18:23:54.005Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-15T14:40:12.000Z", "headline" : "AI in Medical Coding: Where Health Systems and Hospitals Stand in 2026", "image" : [ "https://blog.nym.health/hubfs/AI%20in%20Medical%20Coding_%20Where%20Health%20Systems%20and%20Hospitals%20Stand%20in%202026%20(1).png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.nym.health/ai-medical-coding-adoption-survey-2026", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.nym.health/hubfs/nym-logo.png" }, "name" : "Nym" } } ```