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, all 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 the Copilot icon in the toolbar and select Coaching by Copilot. 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.