Guest column: A home health CDI primer

by Sharon M. Litwin, RN, BSHS, MHA, HCS-D
The CDI acronym in the home health industry is new to many, but the process is not. That’s because home health staff understand the importance of capturing documentation to support coding, outcomes, quality initiatives, patients’ needs, and reimbursement; to ensure compliance and avoid denials; and perhaps most importantly to improve patient outcomes. Therefore, home health agencies (HHA) have been doing many aspects of CDI work for years, but have not formalized this into a CDI program per se. Instead, CDI activities are distributed among many roles in the office, including the administrator, quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) coordinators, clinical managers, coders, and billers.