“When I first started getting interested in the topic of CDI, […] I asked my more senior colleagues and got blank stares,” says Joseph A. Cristiano, MD, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Without the...Read More »
by Sharme Brodie, RN, CCDS
One thing many new CDI specialists hear—and many experienced CDI specialists attest to—is that the CDI profession requires an incredible amount of knowledge in numerous areas, not all of which you may have experience in. One such area may be neurology....Read More »
Amy S. Sterner, CCS, CCDS, CDIP, is a Clinical Documentation Specialist at Hanover Hospital in Hanover PA, and a member of the Central PA ACDIS local chapter. She joined the Hanover CDI team as a certified coder when the program opened seven years ago, rounds on the units and...Read More »
Q: I encountered clinical validation issues where documentation noted a diagnosis with criteria, but the criteria used didn't meet the definition. For example, noted sepsis with criteria of tachycardia and increased white blood cell (WBC) count. But, the patient’s heart rate (HR...Read More »
In 2016, ACDIS’ members top three challenges were physician engagement, physician education, and pushback against CDI efforts from physicians. Respondents to an ACDIS membership survey at the time listed staffing retention and recruitment as their next two priorities.
In 2004, TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey gave brand-new Pontiacs to every person in her nearly 300-member studio audience. It was a marketing ploy— she’d filled the audience with folks who needed cars. Desperately. The remembered refrain from that episode: “...Read More »
CMS recently updated its Recovery Audit program webpages with names of each new contractor, respective regions of responsibility, with links for updates, program reports, provider resources, and historical programs, according to Valerie A. Rinkle, MPA, a lead regulatory specialist and instructor...Read More »