Industry: County Health Department / Focus: Data Accuracy & Eliminating Annual Bottlenecks
Reducing a 7-Month Diagnostic Code Update Cycle to 3 Weeks
The Problem
A County Health Department was responsible for updating tens of thousands of diagnostic codes annually. The process was fully manual; one analyst spent nearly seven months each year copying, comparing, and updating codes by hand. The backlog never cleared, and the manual workload overwhelmed the team.
The Approach
We studied the patterns in the code updates and designed an automated process that could validate each entry against the new code set. The solution checked for new, deprecated, and updated codes, eliminating the need for a person to compare thousands of entries line by line.
The Solution
We built a script and supporting process that reviewed every diagnostic code, flagged differences, and updated the database automatically where appropriate. The analyst was only required to review exceptions and approve unusual changes, but the core work happened without months of manual effort.
The Results
- The annual update cycle shifted dramatically: From nearly 7 months of manual work to 3 weeks of mostly automated runtime.
- Compliance improved because the updates were consistent and timely.
- The data analyst regained months of productive time each year.
- The department finally had a sustainable, predictable update process.
Why It Worked
Automation took over the repetitive comparison work, while staff kept oversight and final authority. The system handled the volume, and the team handled the decisions.
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