Medical coding checklist: Evaluating Express Coding

Is your practice a good fit for Express Coding? A quick self-assessment

Medical practices today are navigating a familiar but relentless set of pressures: staffing shortages, rising administrative complexity, and the constant push to accelerate reimbursement. For many practice managers and revenue cycle leaders, coding inefficiencies sit quietly at the center of these challenges — slowing claim submission, straining staff, and creating unpredictability in financial performance.

The question isn't always whether coding is a problem. Often, it's what coding support is the right solution for your specific practice. Express Coding is built to give practices AI-enabled coding support within their existing athenaOne^® workflows. Use the checklist below to see whether it's the right fit for where your practice is today.

The pressure is real — and the data backs it up

Administrative burden isn't a perception problem — it's a documented operational reality. According to athenahealth's 2026 Physician Sentiment Survey, 42% of independent physicians cite administrative burden as their top challenge, and nearly half report that staffing shortages are directly affecting their ability to run an efficient practice.¹ Meanwhile, athenahealth's AI on the Frontlines of Care (2025) found that 64% of clinicians and practice managers say documentation-related tools reduce burden² — a signal that practices are actively looking for workflow relief wherever they can find it.

Coding is one of the highest-friction points in the revenue cycle. When it slows down or is conducted inconsistently, everything downstream slows down with it.

Express Coding isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and it isn't designed to replace your team. It's designed to extend your capacity, reduce the administrative drag on your revenue cycle, and give your practice more consistent, reliable coding support so your staff can focus on the work that requires their direct expertise.

A quick checklist: Could Express Coding be right for your practice?

There's no single profile that makes a practice a perfect candidate for Express Coding. But there are common operational symptoms that tend to point in that direction. 

Your practice may be a good fit for Express Coding if:

• Coding is creating claim submission delays. If signed encounters are sitting in a queue before claims go out, that lag is costing you — and may be a signal that your coding workflow needs additional support.
• Providers are spending valuable time on coding-related tasks. Physician time is your most finite resource. When it's absorbed by administrative work, patient care and practice performance both suffer.
• Staffing shortages are affecting revenue cycle performance. Vacancies and turnover in coding roles can create gaps and compounding backlogs that affect practice operations across the board.
• Your team struggles to keep up with coding volume. High patient volume is a good problem to have — until your coding capacity can't match it.
• You want more predictable coding turnaround times and outcomes. Inconsistent coding makes it harder to forecast cash flow and manage operations with confidence.
• Denials related to coding accuracy are a recurring concern. Coding-related denials are among the most preventable revenue cycle disruptions — and among the most time-consuming to resolve. Addressing claim submission accuracy early is one of the highest leverage moves a practice can make.
• Your organization is focused on improving operational efficiency. If leadership is actively looking for ways to do more with existing resources, coding workflows are a logical place to start.
• You want to reduce administrative burden without adding headcount. Scaling support without scaling overhead is one of the clearest value propositions of outsourced coding support.

What your answers might mean

If several of these items resonated, that may indicate certain patterns in RCM workflows. Practices that check multiple boxes are often carrying coding inefficiencies that have become normalized over time. They're manageable, until they're not.

Express Coding isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and it isn't designed to replace your team. It's designed to extend your capacity, reduce the administrative drag on your revenue cycle, and give your practice more consistent, reliable coding support so your staff can focus on the work that requires their direct expertise. The goal is a flexible coding workflow that doesn't slow everything else down.

The next step is a conversation, not a commitment

If this checklist surfaced more than a few familiar pain points, it may be worth a closer look at whether Express Coding aligns with your practice's specific needs and workflows.

athenahealth works with practices across specialties and sizes to improve revenue cycle performance and operational efficiency. A conversation with our team can help you assess where your current coding workflow stands — and whether additional support could make a meaningful difference.

Ready to explore whether Express Coding is right for your practice? Speak with an athenahealth specialist.