Physician Advisor's Corner: Addressing challenges associated with difficult translations

by Trey La Charité, MD

When providers use different definitions for the same disease, confusion and chaos result. Inaccurate definitions allow Recovery Auditors (i.e., RACs) ample opportunities for denials, depriving your facility of valuable dollars/patient care resources. Unfortunately, providers learn disease definitions during medical training. When they begin practice, adopting new disease definitions or accepting terminology changes proves difficult.

As CDI professionals, guiding your facility’s providers toward more accurate disease definition usage is challenging, frustrating, and an ongoing process. And yet, maintaining accurate and consistent definitions of medical diagnoses is an important aspect of the CDI specialist’s role.