ACDIS update: Even during pandemic, CDI salaries continue slow ascent, 2020 Salary Survey shows

Since ACDIS conducted its first CDI Salary Survey, respondents have incrementally reported higher annual salaries. As everyone knows, however, 2020 was not a normal year, particularly for those working in the healthcare field. Even still, with more than 1,000 responses, the 2020 CDI Salary Survey results show some overall gains in CDI compensation, shining a bright light on the value organizations place on their departments, even in the face of shrinking profit margins.

In 2020, the largest portion of all survey respondents—20.04%—reported making $80,000–$89,999, up from 18.61% in 2019. Those landing in the next bracket—$90,000–$99,999—fell from 17.48% in 2019 to 16.80%. The highest-earning brackets (combining earning brackets of $100,000 or more per year) made up a larger portion of the respondents than ever before, claiming 37.24% (versus 32.99% in 2019 and 28.15% in 2018). The percentage of those in the lowest salary brackets—$59,999 or less—remained nearly flat from 2019 (2.75% in 2020 versus 2.79% in 2019).

When it comes to the average CDI specialist (those conducting medical record reviews, regardless of professional background), more than half make between $70,000 and $89,999 annually, 34.61% make $90,000 or more (up from nearly 29% in 2019), and only 12.80% make less than $70,000 annually, down nearly nine percentage points in 2019 (from 22.66%). This distribution, particularly in the higher brackets ($90,000 and above), more closely reflects trends seen in 2018, when 31.33% reached that higher earning bracket.

Regardless of where you find yourself on the salary spectrum, the data contained in the newly published 2020 CDI Salary Survey report can help you take the next step in your career growth, according to Angelica Naylor, MBA, BSN, RN, CCDS, CDI consultant and manager at CorroHealth based in Plano, Texas.

“The CDI Salary Survey data is helpful to benchmark yourself, your CDI staff/department, or your region,” she says. “This data can be used by CDI professionals to advocate for a higher salary, to determine whether additional credentials or certifications would be valuable, and for CDI leaders to advocate for salary increases and/or certification reimbursement on behalf of their staff.”  

Click here to read the entire Salary Survey report. The report covers compensation trends related to professional backgrounds, certifications, education and experience level, organization size, respondent demographics and location, and raises and reductions.