ACDIS update: Review ACDIS’ Hierarchy of Authority of published resources

There’s a lot of information on our website about CDI. Be that as it may, it might be difficult to assess between what is an “official ACDIS stance,” friendly “guidance,” and mere “advice.”

So, to answer this question, we have a long standing “Hierarchy of Authority” detailing which type of published content correspond to each category:

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. ACDIS Position Papers are free and open to read for both members and non-members. 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. White Papers are a benefit of ACDIS membership. 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.

Still have questions? Feel reach to reach out to us at info@acdis.org.