Complaint Coding at Intake for a Medical Device Manufacturer

Medical DeviceQuality & Regulatory

12,000 complaints coded in two years. No new analysts.

A medical device manufacturer now gets a suggested complaint code the moment a complaint comes in. An analyst approves every one before it enters the record.

Organization
Medical device manufacturer
Industry
Medical Device
Team
Quality & Regulatory
Problem
Intake & triage

The operating problem

Complaint intake was growing faster than the team.

More devices in the field meant more complaints. Each one had to be read, interpreted, and assigned one of more than 90 codes before anything else could happen.

The operating plan called for three more analysts. The budget was not there. The team had to handle the growing volume with the people it already had.

Same team. More than 12,000 complaints coded over two years.

Before and after path

Before

01

Complaint enters the system

02

Complaint interpreted

03

One of 90+ codes assigned

04

Analyst reads and codes by hand

Backlog grows

After

01

Read the complaint as it arrives

02

Propose a code

03

Analyst approves or changes it

Analyst decides

Same team

Before

Backlog grows

  1. 01

    Complaint enters the system

  2. 02

    Complaint interpreted

  3. 03

    One of 90+ codes assigned

  4. 04

    Analyst reads and codes by hand

After

Same team

  1. 01

    Read the complaint as it arrives

  2. 02

    Propose a code

  3. 03

    Analyst approves or changes it

    Analyst decides

What Botable built

The first pass is done before the analyst opens the complaint.

  1. 01

    Read the complaint as it arrives

    As each complaint enters the complaint system, the system reads it.

  2. 02

    Propose a code

    It proposes one of more than 90 codes, so the analyst starts from a recommendation instead of a blank field.

  3. 03

    Analyst approves or changes it

    An analyst reviews every proposed code before it goes into the official record. That was the manufacturer's choice, and the build respects it.

Evidence

More complaints, same team, every code still approved by a person.

0
Analysts added. The plan called for 3.
12,000+
Complaints coded over two years
90+
Codes the system chooses from
0
Systems replaced. Built on the existing complaint system.

After go-live

Two years of production volume. Same boundary.

The first pass runs on every complaint as it arrives. When the manufacturer adjusts its codes or its process, Botable adjusts the build. The analyst's approval is still where every code ends.

Start with one gap

Is intake growing faster than your team?

We will build the first pass, leave the approval with your people, and keep it running.

Start with one gap