Top Rated HIM Software for Hospitals in 2026: 7 Tools Compared

#1

Solventum 360 Encompass

Best for: Large health systems unifying coding, CDI and audit

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Solventum 360 Encompass (formerly 3M 360 Encompass) is the platform many large hospital coding departments already know. Its pitch is consolidation: facility coding, professional services coding, clinical documentation integrity and audit run in one system, with links into computer-assisted physician documentation. For a health system tired of reconciling a coding tool, a CDI tool and an audit spreadsheet, that single workflow is the main draw.

The Audit Expert add-on deserves attention. It gives coders edits and second-level reviews at the point of coding, and the outpatient prebill review module uses AI to flag likely errors before a claim leaves the building. CDI teams can sort their worklists by focus DRGs, length of stay, severity of illness and risk of mortality, which matters when two specialists cover a 400-bed hospital.

The catch is timing. In August 2026 Solventum announced its intent to separate the Health Information Systems business, which reports put at about $1.4 billion in annual sales. That does not make the product risky to buy, but it does make contract language important. Get support terms, price caps on renewal and roadmap commitments written into the agreement.

#2

Dolbey Fusion CAC

Best for: Community and regional hospitals wanting top-rated CAC

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Dolbey is far smaller than Solventum or Optum, but its Fusion CAC product has a customer satisfaction record that larger vendors would like to have. KLAS named it Best in KLAS for computer-assisted coding again in 2026, with a score of 94.2, and Dolbey says the product has held that spot every year since 2017. For a mid-size hospital that wants a responsive vendor more than a sprawling suite, that track record is a real buying signal.

The product suggests ICD-10-CM, PCS and CPT codes for all patient types, so one platform can serve both hospital and professional coders. Chart prioritization pushes the most complex or urgent cases to the top of the queue to help cut DNFB (discharged not final billed) backlogs. The AutoClose feature codes simple outpatient visits on its own and sends them straight to billing, which frees experienced coders for inpatient work.

The weakness is scope. Fusion CAC is a coding and CDI tool, not a full HIM suite, so you will still need separate answers for ROI, document capture and deficiency tracking. Dolbey's productivity and accuracy figures (up to 25% and 10%) come from the vendor, so ask for references at hospitals your size.

#3

Optum Enterprise CAC and CDI 3D

Best for: Hospitals that want CAC and CDI on one NLP engine

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Optum sells this as a pair. Enterprise CAC handles hospital coding using Optum's Clinical Language Intelligence natural language processing, and CDI 3D runs on the same platform, so coders and CDI specialists look at the same encounter rather than handing records back and forth. Optum says the system can review 100% of records concurrently and flag cases with documentation gaps.

The module list is practical. Audit and Compliance Manager finds cases at risk for denial before billing. LYNX Outpatient Infusion Charging uses its own algorithm to charge infusion and injection services correctly, a common source of lost revenue. Analytics include data exports and Power BI dashboards, which helps if your finance team already works in Microsoft's reporting tools.

For some buyers, the honest concern is not the software. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest payers in the country, and some hospital leaders are uncomfortable sending coding workflows through a payer-owned vendor. Ask directly about data use, firewalls between business units and what happens to your data at contract end.

#4

MRO

Best for: Outsourcing release of information with strong service

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Release of information is the part of HIM that draws complaints from patients, attorneys and payers alike, and MRO has built its reputation on taking it off a hospital's hands. KLAS rated MRO number one for ROI in 2026 with a score of 96.0 out of 100, and the company says it has held that position for 12 years. If your HIM director spends too much time on request backlogs and subpoenas, MRO belongs on the short list.

Its Exchange Manager platform connects to EHRs and requester portals to automate the intake, retrieval and delivery of standardized requests such as risk adjustment, HEDIS and continuity of care. More complex requests go through a workflow engine with AI-assisted logging. MRO has also moved into clinical data abstraction (it absorbed Q-Centrix) and recently launched an AI abstraction engine called Prodigy.

The trade-off is control. MRO is a managed service with technology attached, so your team gives up some day-to-day oversight in exchange for staff and expertise. Read the service-level terms closely, including turnaround targets and who absorbs the cost of errors.

#5

Datavant

Best for: Digital ROI at health-system scale

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Datavant merged with Ciox Health in 2021 and runs one of the largest release of information operations in the country. The company says 70% of the top 100 US health systems depend on its ROI solution. For a multi-hospital system that wants one vendor handling requests across every facility, that scale is the main argument.

Recent work points toward digital fulfillment. Datavant added ID.me identity verification to its Patient Request Tool in 2026 to cut friction when patients ask for their own records, and launched Provider Exchange to help providers retrieve outside records. It also offers coding, denials and audit services, and won a 2026 Best in KLAS award that included outsourced coding.

The downside of size is consistency. A vendor this large runs many local teams, and service can feel different from one site to the next. Ask for references from hospitals with your EHR and request mix, and make sure the contract spells out turnaround times and escalation paths.

#6

Hyland OnBase

Best for: Scanning, indexing and unstructured record content

4.4/5 on G2 (324 reviews, checked Oct 2026)

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Every hospital still drowns in paper and faxes: outside records, consent forms, referral packets. OnBase is Hyland's answer, an enterprise content platform with a large set of HIM-specific solutions. It handles express, front-office and batch scanning, routes documents for indexing and makes them viewable within the EHR so clinicians do not hunt through a separate system.

The HIM features go past storage. Medical records management tracks charts through coding, analysis and physician completion. DeficiencyPop lets physicians sign documents and fill in missing information from a web app. There is a release of information module, HIM productivity dashboards and governance rules for retention. Intelligent MedRecords uses generative AI to classify incoming documents, which can cut manual indexing time.

Know what it is not. OnBase passes documents to a third-party coding system rather than suggesting codes itself, so you still need a CAC product. It is also a highly configurable platform, and hospitals often rely on Hyland consultants or a certified partner to build and maintain workflows. Budget for that.

#7

MDaudit (eValuator)

Best for: Pre-bill coding and charge audits

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eValuator started at Streamline Health as a cloud tool that runs automated analysis of inpatient and outpatient coding and charge data before claims go out. MDaudit finished acquiring Streamline in August 2025, and eValuator and RevID now sit alongside MDaudit's billing compliance and revenue integrity software. For a hospital worried about coding errors and audit exposure, it adds a safety net on top of whatever coding tool you already use.

The appeal is coverage. Instead of a coding manager sampling a small share of charts, the software screens accounts automatically and sends the risky ones to a human. MDaudit publishes customer case studies with dollar figures, but as with any vendor ROI claim, ask how the results were measured.

This is not a replacement for a CAC or CDI product, so treat it as an add-on. Because the merger is recent, ask how eValuator will connect with the rest of the MDaudit platform over the next two years and whether pricing will change at renewal.