I have been pondering the clinical validation conundrum with the publication of the AHA Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS, Fourth Quarter 2016, as well as a practice brief published in the August 2016 edition of the Journal of AHIMA...Read More »
by Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, CCDS
Your CDI program successfully obtained consistent results over the last few years, and all is right within the CDI world. Then, the facility case-mix index (CMI) unexpectedly drops. Provided it rebounds, one or two months below its usual average...Read More »
Ever make mud pies? A hose running rivers in the backyard sandbox or a collection of buckets and throwaway pie tins lining an oversized puddle after a rainstorm make the best kitchens for such non-culinary fun. How CDI managers must long for those moments when they needn’t worry about how each...Read More »
The CDI profession often focuses on engaging providers and other medical staff members in documentation improvement efforts. However, CDI managers also need to examine productivity standards, accountability, and staff engagement. Assessing the quantity of staff reviews does not gauge whether a...Read More »
A physician admits a patient with dementia, yet provides no further definitive diagnosis. The CDI specialist recognizes the scenario as similar to a case reviewed the week before, so she reaches out to the case management (CM) team to see whether they have additional insight. The CDI...Read More »
CMS continues to transition from volume-based to value-based payments and Alternative Payment Models (APM), including bundled payment models, with the goal to have 30% of its payments tied to APMs by 2016 and 50% by 2018. In 2011, CMS sought out providers to test four broadly defined bundled...Read More »
by Valerie Bica, BSN, RN
Providers often document “global devel dopmental delays” in pediatric charts. The phrase is used to describe when a child takes longer to reach certain development milestones than other children the same age, such as walking or talking. Children with...Read More »
The advent of the electronic record (EHR) changed how CDI specialists work with providers and coders. Gone are the days of misplaced paper queries and handwriting woes. As more and more healthcare organizations take on the arduous process of implementing an EHR, new challenges and considerations...Read More »