ACDIS update: CDI salaries on the rise, gap between clinical and coding credentialed professionals closing

Most CDI specialists are earning $80,000–$89,999 (18.61%), followed closely by those who made $90,000–$99,999 (17.48%), according to the 2019 CDI Survey released this week. In previous years, the largest bracket has been those who earn $70,000-$79,999 annually. Additionally, those earning the highest salaries (combining earning brackets of $100,000 or more per year) rose by more than four percentage points from 28.15% in 2018 to 32.99% in 2019.

According to the 2018 salary survey, CDI specialists hailing from a nursing (RN) background were more likely to fall into higher salary brackets than those with HIM/coding degrees (RHIA, RHIT). This year, however, those holding an HIM/coding degree were slightly more likely to fall into the higher salary ranges ($90,000 or more annually) or the lower ranges ($69,999 or less per year) than those with RN credentials.

Roughly half of those with RN credentials (50.64%) made $70,000–$89,999, 12.42% fell below $69,999, and 30.79% made $100,000 or more per year. Of those CDI professionals with either the RHIA or RHIT credential, 35.72% made $70,000–$89,999, 25.03% fell below $69,999, and 39.25% made $90,000 or more annually.

Regardless of their professional background, those who held the CCDS in addition to their other credentials were more likely to fall into the highest salary ranges ($100,000 per year or more), with 41.65% falling into those brackets. Only 5.39% of CCDS holders earned less than $70,000 per year.

The 2019 CDI Salary Survey also includes information regarding job diversification, experience levels, educational background, and regional differences, offering a wealth of information to help CDI leaders benchmark their staff’s compensation, and help those in the field  understand their work’s worth.

“I think that this data is invaluable for CDI professionals,” says Candace Blankenship, RN, BSN, CCDS, a CDI specialist at Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville. “I think that this should be discussed in chapter meetings, and I also think that individual CDI professionals can use this data to get a better idea of their market value. They can use this information when determining the next move in their career.”