Q: A question was raised by some of the members of my staff regarding the titles of queries. If a query is entitled “Sepsis Query” even if it is an open-ended question is it leading?
A: We must remember that we cannot be leading in our query practice; we...Read More »
Q: I was told that a multiple choice query should have at least four options. Keeping in mind that there may be only one reasonable option in a multiple choice query, what would be a good fourth option for a query about hyperkalemia if the other options are:
Q:I understand that most CDI departments develop a standardized list of clinical indicators/criteria to support query efforts. Is this something we need to develop or is it available in the encoder process? If we need to develop this, how do we go about that?...Read More »
Q: We recently had a situation where a 72 year old was admitted with large pleural effusion, fever, elevated white blood cell count, and a left shift. The provider also documented acute respiratory failure.
Q: An intoxicated patient comes into the emergency department with a history of alcoholism and the physician prescribes precautions for withdrawal and documents “tremors.” Can we assume that the physician means “delerium tremors” or “DTs”?...Read More »
Q: At what stage should an established program most likely experience a reimbursement plateau? One may naturally expect the physicians to improve as CDI programs hammer them with education. After we’ve gathered all the low-hanging fruits and go for the mangos? We ran the top principal...Read More »
