Member Resources FAQs

Click on the questions below for answers to common quandaries about membership resources! 

What articles represent ACDIS’ official stance, guidance, or advice on a particular question or issue?

To answer this question, we have established a “Hierarchy of Authority” detailing which articles are considered official ACDIS advice or guidance, and which are not. The most authoritative “ACDIS endorsed” publications are listed first.

  1. ACDIS Position Papers: ACDIS Position Papers are the association’s official, consensus stance on an issue. ACDIS Position Papers set a recommended standard for the CDI industry to follow. They advocate on behalf of a certain position or offer concrete solutions for a particular problem. All current members of the ACDIS Advisory Board must review/approve a Position Paper and are encouraged to materially contribute to its creation. You can find ACDIS Position Papers here: https://acdis.org/resources?type=12
  2. ACDIS White Papers: White Papers are next in the ACDIS hierarchy of authority. An ACDIS white paper discusses CDI best practice, advances new ideas, increases knowledge, or offers suggestions for administrative simplification. These can be written by a single ACDIS Advisory Board member, a smaller subset of the board, or can be written by external sources (when they are, they are clearly labelled as such). White Papers are less formal than a Position Paper but are peer-reviewed. You can find ACDIS White Papers here: https://acdis.org/resources?type=14
  3. CDI Journal: Articles in our bimonthly members-only CDI Journal are subject to editorial review and extensive editing prior to publication. But unless otherwise noted they do not represent official ACDIS recommendation or policy. ACDIS’ CDI Journal strives to use a variety of sources in its articles to ensure fair and accurate coverage. Occasionally the CDI Journal publishes opinion pieces and columns from industry experts. We strive to clearly mark these as such, and advice provided is general in nature and CDI staff should review the information to ensure compliance. While ACDIS Advisory Board members frequently write articles for CDI Journal the opinions expressed represent their own, not those of the association. You can find current and archived issues of CDI Journal here: https://acdis.org/articles/archive?publication=1
  4. CDI Strategies: Unless otherwise noted CDI Strategies articles are summations of relevant news articles, recaps of local chapter activity, notifications of articles or downloads to the ACDIS website, or Q&As with industry representatives. These are curated, edited, and uploaded by ACDIS editorial staff but not peer-reviewed. You can find an archive of CDI Strategies articles here: https://acdis.org/articles/archive?publication=2
  5. Forum posts, comments, and social media: Posts in ACDIS Forum, comments appended to the end of articles, and posts or replies to ACDIS social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are automatically assumed to be the opinions of the person posting the comment. Inappropriate or offensive posts will be removed.

To sum up, unless an article is a Position Paper, or an ACDIS White Paper (i.e., a White Paper written or approved by the ACDIS advisory board, not from an outside source), it is not considered official ACDIS guidance.

General note regarding articles on this website

Please note that ACDIS is an association of professionals governed by an elected advisory board and administrators. It is not a regulatory body. As in all matters, please refer to your manager, compliance department, and/or legal counsel before implementing changes or altering your organization’s policies and procedures.

I’m interested in writing for one of ACDIS’ publications. What are the guidelines?

ACDIS accepts submissions for publication in CDI Strategies, the CDI Leadership Insider (CLI), and the CDI Journal. 

To submit an article for Strategies, send your idea or draft to ACDIS Associate Editorial Director Linnea Archibald (linnea.archibald@hcpro.com) and Editor Jess Fluegel (jess.fluegel@hcpro.com). Strategies articles tend to be between 500-700 words long and can be focused on whatever CDI topic the author desires, provided that it follows ACDIS’ Code of Ethics and does not contradict ACDIS’ published guidance. Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis and will be subject to editorial review and approval prior to publication.

Submissions for the CDI Journal should be sent to Archibald and Fluegel. Journal articles are typically 750-1,500 words long and tend to be a bit more formal than articles in Strategies. While the topic is left to the author, each edition of the Journal does center around a particular theme and contributors are encouraged to submit articles related to that theme. The Journal is published on a bimonthly basis. The remaining 2024 deadlines and topics are as follows: 

  • November/December 2024: Quality and risk adjustment
    • Deadline: October 1, 2024

The 2025 deadlines and topics are as follows: 

  • January/February 2025: Your Career in CDI 
    • Deadline: December 1, 2024
  • March/April 2025: Measuring Success
    • Deadline: February 1, 2025
  • May/June 2025: Innovation: Expansion, Technology, and Workflow 
    • Deadline: April 1, 2025
  • July/August 2025: Education
    • Deadline: June 1, 2025
  • September/October 2025: Global Perspectives on CDI: How CDI Impacts All Areas of Healthcare
    • Deadline: August 1, 2025
  • November/December 2025: Quality and Health Equity 
    • Deadline: October 1, 2025

The details for submitting to the CLI can be found on the Leadership Council pages. 

Please note that all submissions, regardless of the contributor’s intended venue, will be reviewed editorially and placed in a particular publication as ACDIS sees fit, based on topic, style, and editorial needs.

When does ACDIS publish articles? How can I access them?

ACDIS publishes articles in three publications: CDI Strategies, the CDI Journal, and the CDI Leadership Insider.

CDI Strategies is ACDIS’ free weekly eNewsletter that is sent to subscribers every Thursday. Each edition includes a note from an ACDIS team members, several news items pertinent to the CDI profession, a Q&A with one of our Boot Camp instructors, ACDIS news, and a listing of upcoming local chapter events. Articles in CDI Strategies are free and open to both ACDIS members and non-members. Anyone can subscribe to get the newsletter straight to their email inbox by clicking here.

The CDI Journal is ACDIS’ bimonthly members-only publication that typically includes a dozen-plus articles in more than 30 pages of industry-focused topics. Each edition includes a mix of contributed articles and case studies from the ACDIS membership, featured articles written by ACDIS staff, insight from industry experts, and more. The Journal is a benefit of ACDIS membership and is not open to non-members.

The CDI Leadership Insider (CLI) is the exclusive monthly newsletter for members of the ACDIS CDI Leadership Council. It publishes on the second Monday of each month and includes member insights, member resources, and information about upcoming meetings. The CLI is a benefit of ACDIS CDI Leadership Council membership and is not open to non-members.

How do I access the CDI Journal quiz for CCDS/CCDS-O credits?

The quizzes for the bimonthly CDI Journal can be accessed in the article list on the CDI Journal page. We provide a link to the quiz in the "Download full edition" page for each issue as well as in the table of contents found at the beginning of each edition PDF.

Can I earn CEUs by writing for ACDIS' publications?

Yes! ACDIS awards CCDS/CCDS-O CEUs to authors published in two of our publications.

First, contributors can submit articles for publication in the CDI Journal, ACDIS’ bimonthly members-only publication. Contributors published in the Journal receive 0.5 CEUs per 350 published words and articles tend to be around the 750-1,500-word mark. Each Journal edition is centered on a theme and contributors are welcome to use that theme as a jumping off point for their articles, but we always like to include some clinical and coding topics as well. All the topics and deadlines are posted in our Publications FAQ section.

Secondly, ACDIS CDI Leadership Council members can submit articles for publication in the CDI Leadership Insider (CLI), the Council-specific publication that goes out the second Monday of the month. The articles in the CLI tend to be 750-1,000 words long and contributors receive 0.5 CEUs per 350 published words. The topics are chosen by the contributor, though if contributors would like help, they can email Associate Editorial Director Linnea Archibald (linnea.archibald@hcpro.com) for assistance. 

And finally, while ACDIS accepts contributor articles for CDI Strategies, they are not awarded CEUs. These articles tend to be a bit shorter and less formal, running about 500-700 words. Articles submitted for publication in CDI Strategies are reviewed on a rolling basis and offer new authors a “training ground” in a less formal setting.

I can't find the resource I need. How can I use the search functions more effectively?

The Resource Library has search and filter options to help you narrow your search. To ensure you’re finding all potential matches to your search, we suggest that you search for a single word in the “Keywords” box (e.g., “sepsis” rather than “sepsis validation”). You can also filter by resource type using the dropdown menu, by topic category, and by publication year.

Can I use materials from the membership Resource Library freely?

Yes, but please include attribution to ACDIS and the original author as follows:

  • ACDIS. Last name, first name. Name of organization, Publication date. Website link.

I'm looking for free non-member resources. Where should I look?

All the items under the "Free Resources" tab in the main menu are available to both members and non-members alike!

How do I submit a sample to the Resource Library?

Sample educational tools, job descriptions, policies and procedures, and query forms found in the Resource Library are contributed by the ACDIS membership and reviewed for compliance, helpfulness, and accuracy by the ACDIS Resource Library Committee on a rolling basis.

If you have a tool, sample, or resource to share, please send it to ACDIS Associate Editor Joshua Raposa (joshua.raposa@hcpro.com).

Where do the sample tools in the Resource Library come from? How do I know they’re reliable?

Sample educational tools, job descriptions, policies and procedures, and query forms found in the Resource Library are contributed by the ACDIS membership and reviewed for compliance, helpfulness, and accuracy by the ACDIS Resource Library Committee on a rolling basis.

The Resource Library Committee is comprised of 8–10 CDI professionals from varying professional backgrounds, organization types, and job titles, along with a committee coordinator from the ACDIS leadership team. They meet monthly to review all submitted materials and determine their worthiness to be published in the Library.

While the Committee does not edit submissions, they do pen recommendations to go along with each sample to help those adapting samples for their own use. While the samples aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution for all CDI programs everywhere, samples in the Resource section of the website can be a starting point for developing your own forms, tools, policies, and procedures.

If you have a tool, sample, or resource to share, please send it to ACDIS Associate Editor Joshua Raposa (joshua.raposa@hcpro.com).