For the last five years, I've been in the throes of an EMR system conversion that would "eliminate the need for coders".
Long story short: once the powers that be figured out that RVU issues, billing issues, external audit results, and documentation deficiencies were going to affect their bottom line and their compliance risk, it became crystal clear that coders were vitally important.
The one change I continue to see is that our facility requires certified coders who can audit, educate, analyze software, write policies and procedures, and keep up with the coding, payer and documentation changes. My staff has been reduced by four "staff coders" over the past two years, and I anticipate that there may be further reductions as the EMR system is rolled out to specialty practices. I am certain, however, that we will continue to need coding staff, but not at the "staff coder" level.