Q&A: CDI productivity policies
Q: I’m looking to gather some insights on CDI productivity policies currently in use. Could anyone share the policies you’re implementing at the moment?
Response #1: Previously, we were expecting 25 accounts per day and a 25% query rate. We switched over to a new vendor in May of this year, and since then, our metrics have been adjusted, since the accounts that land in our high priority list often need multiple queries. Our new metric expectations are 15 accounts per day and approximately a 35% query rate.
Response #2: At my organization, CDI specialists are expected to complete 11 to 12 initial reviews per day, at least 20 to 30 follow-ups, and have a 20% query rate (without registered dietician [RD] queries). Our average reviews per day is 35 and our query rate is 35% without RD queries. Our RDs enter RD queries for malnutrition assessed and treated when no documentation of that stage is found.
Response #3: We staff our teams to cover 1,500 discharges per full-time equivalent per year. We except that the seasoned CDI specialists will cover around 110-120 cases per month of initial reviews. We also like to see at least two reviews per case on average. We have templates for our initial and subsequent reviews that are fairly comprehensive and capture the details that result in the code assignment and support query activity. All of our staff reconcile their own cases.
Response #4: At my organization, our CDI metrics are 8–10 initial reviews and 8–10 rechecks per day, for a total of 16-20 cases/day. We do not have a specific query metric, but we like to see our department query rate at around 25%. If our CDI specialists do not meet productivity requirements, a warning is given. We are entirely remote and if performance is not improved, they will then have to work onsite at a facility where a CDI leader can work with them on time management. Also, depending on the severity of their lack of performance (usually this is quantity and quality), we involve human resources and institute an action plan.
Editor’s note: This question was answered by members of the ACDIS CDI Leadership Council. For the purposes of this article, all Council member answers have been deidentified.