ACDIS update: Get to know the experts of Staying Engaged

Did you know that ACDIS’ three-day, over 12-credit, Staying Engaged: ACDIS Presents Virtual Education & Community includes educational sessions on CDI for the critically ill patient, critical thinking for medical record review, creating system-wide clinical guidelines for common diagnoses, managing unexpected fires for CDI program efforts, common COVID-19 related documentation focus areas, and so much more.

We believe the experience and expertise our industry leaders provide during these sessions is worth the price of admission. Here’s a quick look at some of the experts we have joining us on the ACDIS “virtual” stage.

• Laurie Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CDIP, CRC, is the CDI education director at HCPro, a Simplify Compliance brand, in Middleton, Massachusetts. She is an instructor for the CDI Boot Camps, a subject matter expert for ACDIS, and a member of the CCDS-O Exam Committee and ACDIS Advisory Board. Prescott is a frequent speaker on webinars and the author of The ACDIS Pocket Guide, The ACDIS Outpatient Pocket Guide, and The Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s Complete Training Guide. She has been in the nursing field since 1985. Her experience also includes specialization in the role of compliance officer. She developed and implemented a CDI program in 2007 before coming to HCPro in 2013.
  • Fun fact: Most people know about Laurie’s pets—Romeo her ACDIS t-shirt wearing pooch and Opie her Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting reading cat—but not many know the name of her human family. She’ll have to include more photos of them in her Boot Camp materials!
• James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, is the founder and president of CDIMD, a Nashville-based physician and facility advisory and consulting firm that advocates ICD-10–pertinent clinical documentation and coding integrity essentials to healthcare revenue cycles and quality measurement. As a coding and CDI expert with more than 20 years of experience and as a frequent speaker to medical staff, HIM, and CDI associations, Kennedy is nationally recognized for his subject matter expertise, communication skills, and problem-solving approach.
  • Fun fact: Did you know that Dr. Kennedy is a past ACDIS Advisory Board member and has supported the ACDIS community since its inception? One of his favorite phrases is that “a good lawyer knows the law, but the best lawyers know the law, the judge, and the jury.”
• Samantha Cantin, RN, is a documentation quality coordinator at BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, Missouri. She has 10 years of nursing experience and four years in CDI. In her current role, she conducts second-level reviews for mortality cases, low-weighted DRG charges, CDI/coder mismatches, is the lead for BJC Healthcare’s clinical guidelines and clinical validation denials committees.
  • Fun fact: When Cantin joined BJC, she was charged with getting a clinical guidelines project off the ground and just eight months later had a new handbook available on the systems internal website. During the presentation, she’ll share a template for their handbook that others can adopt. Also, she has two adorable puppies named Bark Obama and Ruth Gader Ginsbark that you get to see if you come to the webinar.  

ACDIS is more than a place to connect with experts, it’s an opportunity to get to know one another and learn from each other’s experiences. We hope you’ll come to the Staying Engaged event and share your experiences with us.