Wouldn’t it be nice if every service line in your hospital fully embraced your CDI program’s goals? How frustrating is it when all of the clinical indicators for a given diagnosis are placed squarely under the nose of one of your physicians—only to be...Read More »
The overarching goal of a documentation improvement program is not to improve reimbursement for the hospital, but to effect a positive change in the behavior of those who document in the medical record. This change...Read More »
Attached is a supplement to the April 2011 issue of CDI Journal. It provides important updates every CDI specialist should know regarding new guidance issued in AHA Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM for both the first quarter of 2011. The author of the article is James Kennedy, MD,...Read More »
Director’s note, p. 5 Learn how CDI efforts can affect infection control statistics.
Consider opportunities for excisional debridement documentation improvement, p. 6 Trey La Charité, MD, offers advice and a sample query for this RAC target area.
As the financial tug-of-war continues, with government and private payers on one side and healthcare providers on the other, it can be difficult for CDI staff to know where the bright white line of ethical behavior begins. This is one reason AHIMA released its Ethical Standards for Clinical...Read More »
You’ve heard it in the media: Hospitals are making people sick and/or causing unnecessary complications. While the problem is much more complex—often a clash of clinical terminology vs. documentation and coding regulations—hospitals are stuck in the middle and come out looking like an easy-to-...Read More »
by Trey La Charité, MD
Every institution reading this column has likely received its first recovery audit contractor (RAC) denials regarding the documentation and coding of excisional debridement procedures (86.22).
Our hospital is no exception. While we knew that this...Read More »
As of January 1, a dozen ACDIS advisory board members will step down after leading the organization they helped create three years ago.This diverse group infused the association with a wide breadth of expertise and also reinforced the fact that CDI is not limited to nursing or HIM professionals...Read More »
