Note from the ACDIS Director: Charting the Course for a successful 2019

By Brian Murphy

I can still recall in vivid detail our first ACDIS conference back in June of 2008. We had to submit a plan to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas to reserve rooms and space and had no prior track record with which to make our forecast.

“Hmm, 85 sounds like a good number,” I thought.

Some 385 attendees later, I knew this CDI thing was a big deal. And, the ACDIS national conference has become a really big deal too.

Each year, our conference gets bigger and better. It has grown along with the CDI profession. We’ve needed to add tracks to keep up with the changes that seem to be occurring almost daily. Outpatient CDI, remote CDI, CDI educators, new clinical criteria, including the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM), sepsis-3, and the fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction, and the growth of population health and CDI beyond hospital walls, are just a few of the recent changes presenting new challenges for CDI professionals.

ACDIS is here to help you navigate those changes. This year we chose the theme of “Charting the Course” for the 2019 conference, for obvious reasons. CDI departments cannot succeed without a direction, a compass, and map to get them there. There is no better place to reset your direction or boldly chart new waters than the ACDIS national conference.

Our full conference agenda will be released very soon, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of just a few of the highlights we have in store.

We have two GREAT keynotes lined up. Dr. Natalie Stavas was at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April 2013, and without hesitation ran towards the blast to help badly wounded survivors. As our kickoff Day 1 speaker, I guarantee she will move and inspire you.

A former chief operating officer for a large community teaching hospital, Joe Tye, is one of the most respected speakers in the hospital leadership circuit. In these turbulent times, he’ll be talking about how to “See the Lion in Your Mirror” and be empowered to make changes.

In between these two, we’ll have a general session presented by two auditors from the Office of Inspector General, to provide insight and answer questions, straight from the source, on the OIG Work Plan, DRG audits, and more.

It’s no secret that CDI is a profession heavily represented by women, and has become a profession where women have made, and are making, amazing changes in healthcare. So, in response, we will be offering a special Women in Leadership panel session in our newly named “Management and Professional Development” track.

Stay tuned for much more to come. We’re nearing the end of 2018, but I’m more excited than ever for what 2019 has in store, and I hope you’ll join us on our journey to Orlando.

Editor’s note: Murphy is the director of ACDIS. Contact him at bmurphy@acdis.org.