Meet a Member: Digging into clinical info and finding query opportunities is her biggest reward

Brandi Hutcheson, RN, BSN, MSN, CCM, CCDS, is a remote CDI specialist at Community Health Systems based in Franklin, Tennessee. She was a member of the 2020/2021 ACDIS Scholarship Committee and a member of the 2021/2022 ACDIS Furthering Education Committee.

ACDIS: How long have you been in the CDI field, and what did you do before entering the field?
Hutcheson: I have been working in the CDI field for seven years. Before that, I worked as a nurse case manager several years before transitioning into CDI. Prior to that, I worked on a medical-surgical unit at a hospital. I also worked in a long-term care facility one summer between classes.

ACDIS: Why did you get into this line of work? 
Hutcheson: I decided to give CDI a try when I became interested in the business behind healthcare. At the time, there was a contract CDI specialist working in the same office as the case managers, so I got bits and pieces of how the process worked. I was also eager to learn how important documentation and coding was to hospital operations.

ACDIS: What has been your biggest challenge? What about your biggest reward?
Hutcheson: My biggest challenge was learning coding rules and guidelines as I had no prior experience with coding. It was a lot to soak up.

My biggest reward is that I can be the providers’ forensic specialist of sorts and dig through the clinical information and present them with the facts that they may have overlooked previously in their documentation.

ACDIS: How has the field changed since you began working in CDI?
Hutcheson: I think new CDI roles have emerged since I began. The CDI role is ever-evolving, and I have a constant opportunity to learn.

ACDIS: Can you mention a few of the “gold nuggets” of information you’ve received from colleagues on The Forum or through ACDIS?
Hutcheson: I enjoy reading the ACDIS publications as the articles provide such great insight into the industry. I especially enjoy reading the CDI Strategies. Just recently, the ACDIS Podcast posed the question if CDI would ever be taught in medical schools, and I found that conversation relevant as I have often wondered the same.

ACDIS: If you have attended, how many ACDIS conferences have you been to? What are your favorite memories?
Hutcheson: I attended the live ACDIS conference in Orlando in 2019, and I have attended all the virtual conferences as well. The live conference was a great experience, and I learned so much! The couple of things that stuck out in my mind were the keynote speaker and all the attendees posting pictures of their fur babies on the conference app.

ACDIS: What piece of advice would you offer to a new CDI specialist?
Hutcheson: You may feel saturated so take it one day at a time.

ACDIS: If you could have any other job, what would it be?
Hutcheson: I already have it! The job title is “Mom.”

ACDIS: What was your first job?
Hutcheson: I worked on a farm and was a potato grader. The potatoes would come out of the field on a truck, and then they would be placed on a conveyor belt. As they moved across the conveyor belt, the graders would throw out all the bad and rotten potatoes. The good potatoes then went into the back of a transfer trailer truck. These potatoes would turn into potato chips!

ACDIS: Can you tell us about a few of your favorite things?

• Vacation spots: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This town really has the laid-back island feel. Last summer when our family was visiting, we saw actual beach bunnies close to the sand dunes.
• Hobby: I enjoy taking my 6-year-old daughter, Audrey, to gymnastics and my 9-year-old son, Zayne, to kenpo karate classes.
• Non-alcoholic beverage: Coffee!!
• Foods: I like a thin crust supreme pizza from Pizza Hut! And those breadsticks!
• Activity: I like to spin on my Peloton bike when the mood hits. Right now, the mood has not hit…

ACDIS: Tell us about your family and how you like to spend your time away from CDI.
Hutcheson: My husband, Daniel, and I have been married more than 17 years. We just enjoy hanging out at home with the kids on the weekend and getting a bite to eat every now and then. We attend a small local church. Dan helps teach the adult Sunday School class, and I help teach the children’s classes. We also own a small farm. We have in the past raised Nigerian dwarf goats, but the herd has aged so we have officially “retired” them. This past summer we raised some feeder pigs and planted sunflowers and pumpkins.

ACDIS: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Hutcheson: CDI makes me feel like a private investigator! I’m looking for clinical clues to support undocumented and conflicting documented diagnoses.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Community Health Systems, ACDIS, HCPro, or any of its subsidiaries. Hutcheson’s contributions to this article do not include any CHSPSC, LLC data, proprietary processes, or other information.