2026 Gastroenterology Reimbursement and Coding Update (Virtual) | November 2025-How Might AI Affect Documentation, Coding and Compliance?

Pdf Summary

This presentation by Dr. Glenn Littenberg (November 2025) explores the growing role and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on medical documentation, coding, billing, compliance, and healthcare workflows, with a focus on gastroenterology practice. <br /><br />AI technologies—including AI scribes, coding assistants, and office automation tools—are increasingly being tested or implemented to improve accuracy, efficiency, and reduce provider burnout caused by Electronic Health Record (EHR) burdens. AI-powered solutions can generate clinical notes, assist with CPT coding, streamline billing and prior authorization, and provide real-time clinical decision support, potentially enhancing revenue cycle management and documentation quality. For example, AI algorithms can analyze patient data to reduce errors and accelerate reimbursements. Ambient intelligence concepts envision AI seamlessly integrated into clinical environments to support providers throughout encounters.<br /><br />However, challenges remain. Integration with existing EHRs and billing modules is uneven, oversight and quality control are needed to avoid errors, and issues of data ownership, transparency, and ethical considerations persist. AI is prone to “hallucinations” (inaccurate or fabricated outputs), and misuse or malicious prompts can provoke harmful or unsafe suggestions. Compliance and responsibility for AI-driven coding and billing errors remain unclear amid evolving regulations. Moreover, efforts to regulate AI in healthcare face political shifts, with recent executive orders rescinding previous safeguards in favor of deregulation.<br /><br />While AI can perform some tasks comparably to physicians, there is concern about deskilling and overdependence. AI’s future impact depends on who designs, implements, and profits from these technologies and whether they truly reduce workload or create new burdens. Despite rapid advances, AI tools currently do not have associated reimbursable CPT codes.<br /><br />Overall, AI in healthcare offers promising improvements in documentation, coding, and compliance but requires careful oversight, integration, and ethical frameworks to realize benefits without compromising quality, equity, or patient safety. The landscape is rapidly evolving amid significant investment, hype, and regulatory uncertainty.

Asset Subtitle

Glenn D. Littenberg, MD, MACP, FASGE

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence

medical documentation

coding assistants

billing automation

gastroenterology practice

Electronic Health Record

clinical decision support

revenue cycle management

AI integration challenges

healthcare compliance