Q: At what stage should an established program most likely experience a reimbursement plateau? One may naturally expect the physicians to improve as CDI programs hammer them with education. After we’ve gathered all the low-hanging fruits and go for the mangos? We ran the top principal...Read More »
Q:If the physician writes septic shock instead of sepsis do I need to query for sepsis or is this an integral part and sepsis would be the principal diagnosis and the septic shock would be secondary, making it a MCC?
Doesn’t it burn you up when someone says that CDI programs are all about reimbursement? I can feel my face get red when I hear that statement! Of course, I remain composed, smile, and provide politically correct education to the individual. But deep...Read More »
How nurses and doctors communicate—or don’t communicate—using health information technology is the focus of a multi-year study funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The life-and-death importance of nurse-physician...Read More »
Maintaining an organizational presence through the continued marketing of your CDI program is one of the most valuable steps you can take towards leveraging long-term success. Hospitals cannot afford to have their CDI program become an “out of sight, out...Read More »
CDI specialists typically review inpatient records to obtain specificity related to principal and secondary diagnosis. As a profession, such staff combine clinical knowledge with coding, billing, and documentation experience. Although not as prevalent as inpatient efforts, outpatient CDI is a...Read More »
Q:The primary physician documented subacute cerebral infarction and I am wondering whether I should code this to a new cerebral vascular accident (CVA) or not since the term “subacute” doesn’t really fall anywhere.
Q:When atelectasis is noted on an ancillary test such as a CT-scan of the abdomen or chest x-ray can nursing documentation of turning, coughing, and deep breathing considered an intervention that qualifies as one of the criteria to meet a secondary diagnosis?...Read More »
