Note from the Associate Editorial Director: Funny responses to physician queries

We all have those tough days to be sure. Some days are tougher than others. But when a physician writes, “Duh! It’s a no brainer!” in response to a query you’ve just asked, it can be a little tough to take. Thankfully, CDI professionals have a committed network of their peers by way of the ACDIS CDI Talk message group to help turn such affronts into opportunities for amusement. The following are a few of the funnier responses to query efforts exchanged recently:

• On a query related to the depth and degree of excisional debridement: “I cut her in the operating room.”
• On a query regarding the type of pneumonia: “The kind that’s in the lung.”
• On a query regarding the type of pneumonia being treated with Vanco: “The patient came from a nursing home after having already been hospitalized in the past two weeks so it is obvious that is HCAP.”
• On a query for morbid obesity: “OMG, have you seen her?” and “Yes, she is a big girl!”
• On a query for morbid obesity which included the body mass index formula: “I much prefer the Ringling Brothers Circus’ way of doing this!”
• On a query for the type of congestive heart failure: “I don’t know. Ask God.”
• On a query related to the relevance of sodium treatment with intravenous fluid: “The relevance is that it gives you a job to do every day.”

The exchange prompted a revision of the following joke letter from a CDI specialist to CMS and other payers regarding use of clinically specific language:

Date:

Dear CMS, et al;                                               

On behalf of our esteemed physician, Dr. __________________, we are making the following request:

When he says: _____________________________ He actually means:___________________________

Since it should be obvious, would you mind changing the rules that are applied when the dictation is that of Dr. Unabletodocument? He is very busy with his patients and doesn’t have time to keep learning specific word choices.

Respectfully Submitted,

CDI Specialists of the World

Editor's note: Varnavas is the associate editorial director of ACDIS. Contact her at mvarnavas@acdis.org.