When Susan A. Carrier, RN, BSN, MBA, CCDS, CPC, went to school at Northeastern University in Massachusetts to become a nurse, the role of CDI specialist wasn’t even a far-off dream. She graduated, got a job working in pediatrics, and eventually moved into a sales position for a laboratory. Then...Read More »
By Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CRC, CCDS
It’s that time of year again: I am perusing proposed rules, which always hold a few interesting potential changes for the upcoming fiscal year. However, as I read the proposed rule for the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee...Read More »
By Anny Pang Yuen, RHIA, CCS, CCDS, CDIP
Because healthcare is changing so rapidly, many CDI programs recognize the importance of expanding their existing programs to cover areas that may be new to the majority of CDI specialists. As healthcare reimbursement shifts from fee-for-...Read More »
For many, outpatient CDI is still a new frontier. An outpatient CDI effort might be kicked off by success on the inpatient side and some preliminary wins with outpatient record reviews for ambulatory or emergency services. Programs with full-blown CDI efforts into system-owned physician...Read More »
“HCCs [Hierarchical Condition Categories] aren’t just an ambulatory focus. This is inpatient and ambulatory, so it’s really important for [CDI professionals] to be tuned into this model,” said Brett Senor, MD, physician associate for Enjoin CDI on ...Read More »
By Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CHDA, CDIP, COBGC
Back in 2016, I wrote the following synopsis for HCPro about outpatient/office diagnosis reporting, clarifying some of the misunderstood procedural guidelines between inpatient and outpatient services....Read More »
Outpatient CDI is a different beast than CDI performed in the inpatient hospital setting. The volume of encounters is significantly higher, as is the speed of the visit and the turnover of patients. Trying use the same processes for clarifying documentation with...Read More »
Outpatient has been the buzzword in CDI circles for some time now, leading to increased resources for the expansion (such as the first annual ACDIS Symposium: Outpatient CDI, the Outpatient CDI Pocket Guide: Focusing on HCCs, and First Steps in Outpatient CDI: Tips and Tools for...Read More »
