Use Outlook's AI to Draft HIM Staff and Physician Communications

What This Does

Outlook Copilot drafts your recurring HIM communications — coder productivity updates, physician documentation memos, denial trend notifications, and vendor follow-ups — from a brief description. You review and send instead of composing from scratch.

Before You Start

• Microsoft Outlook (desktop or web version at outlook.office.com)
• Microsoft 365 subscription with Copilot enabled
• You're composing a new email or replying to an existing thread

Steps

1. Open a new email or reply

Click New Email to start a fresh message, or open an existing email and click Reply.

2. Find the Copilot button

In the email composition window, look for the Copilot icon in the toolbar (appears as a small sparkle/star icon). Click it.

What you should see: A dropdown or sidebar asking "What would you like this email to say?"

Troubleshooting: If no Copilot icon appears, try the web version at outlook.office.com — Copilot appears more consistently there.

3. Describe the email you need

In the Copilot prompt box, describe what you need to communicate. Be specific about tone and audience.

For a coder productivity update: "Write a brief email to my remote coding team about this month's productivity results. Highlights: accuracy improved to 94%, productivity average is 18 charts/day (up from 16). One reminder: chart query turnaround must stay under 48 hours. Tone: positive and encouraging."

For a physician documentation issue: "Write a professional email to Dr. [specialty] about the need for more specific documentation of [condition]. Explain the reimbursement impact without being accusatory. Keep it to 3 short paragraphs."

4. Review and adjust the generated draft

Read the draft. Copilot writes clean, professional email quickly — but check for:

• Accuracy of any metrics or dates you mentioned
• Whether the tone matches your relationship with the recipient
• Any HIM-specific terminology that needs to be more precise

5. Use "Coaching" to refine the draft

If the draft isn't quite right, click Coaching by Copilot (appears after a draft is generated). It will analyze your message for clarity, tone, and reader sentiment — and suggest improvements.

Real Example

Scenario: You need to send a sensitive email to a physician whose CDI query response rate has dropped to 42% (below the 70% department standard), while maintaining a collegial relationship.

What you type into Copilot: "Write a professional email to a physician whose query response rate has dropped to 42%. Remind them of the 70% expectation, explain how unresponded queries affect coding accuracy and reimbursement, and ask for a 15-minute call to discuss. Tone: collegial, not disciplinary."

What you get: A 3-paragraph email that frames the conversation as supportive rather than punitive — ready to personalize with the physician's name and a specific meeting time.

Tips

• For sensitive messages (physician performance, compliance issues), always read the AI draft carefully and soften or strengthen the language to match your relationship with the recipient
• Use "Coaching by Copilot" on any email that will go to a C-suite executive — it catches tone issues before they become problems
• For routine weekly updates to staff, create a template email once and ask Copilot to update just the metrics section each week

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.