Too many organizations measure the effectiveness of their CDI program solely by an increase in Medicare case-mix index (CMI). This perspective is faulty for many reasons, but primarily because CMS frowns upon it. CMS views this practice as a strategy to...Read More »
You know those somewhat helpful hints you most often find in Women’s Day magazine but which have cropped up recently on web browsers’ homepages? They’re usually things like “8 great meals to make for dinner tonight!” or “10 helpful hints to make your bathroom...Read More »
Starting in January 2022, Associate Editorial Director Linnea Archibald began sending out “missed connections” emails with questions from Council members every Monday. Anyone with experience related to one of the questions was invited to respond and Archibald connected them with the question...Read More »
When Melanie Halpern, RN-BC, MBA, CCDS, CCRA, CDI manager at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)conducted interviews, she thought she had found the perfect candidate. But there was a catch: The individual lived three hours away, which was too far of a commute to...Read More »
He spent 10 years as an emergency department nurse, three years working in surgery, and several more years working nights in the ICU. With nearly 20 years of nursing experience, Steven Brush decided he had had enough. He needed a change from long hours and odd shifts. After all...Read More »
Most organizations evaluate performance by looking at calendar year data, so set aside some time in January to run some reports and analyze your program. If you’re not the data manager for your program, make an appointment to sit down with your data person/report developer/manager to review...Read More »
There is a poster that I’ve seen in several hospital departments around the country: “TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More.” The problem, as I see it, is that developing a team takes more than just a poster. It takes collaboration, patience, and...Read More »
The rift between CDI and HIM professionals can sometimes feel too great to cross.
Nevertheless, documentation improvement is not “an us versus them concept; it’s a we concept,” says Colleen Stukenberg, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CCDS, a member of the ACDIS advisory board and clinical...Read More »
