Guest Post: Appropriate investment in CDI helps programs bloom

by Sylvia Hoffman, RN

Changes in the IPPS (Inpatient Prospective Payment System) led hospitals to develop clinical documentation departments to assist with these changes. Some hospitals hire consultants to initiate their novice CDI staff. They provide generous budgets to facilitate education and growth.

In many cases, the documentation departments outgrow the consultant firms hired to teach them as its  staff members become more savvy about the ins and outs of their particular hospitals. As these departments expand, the hospital case mix index grows.

Some hospitals hire CDI staff members and provide only minimal education. They keep a tight budget and provide minimal flexibility. These programs grow with the help of available audio conferences and through networking. The staff struggle and grow slowly.

Other hospitals are reluctant to start clinical documentation programs. They hired one or two nurses or add new responsibilities onto their already busy coders. These hospitals provide little in the form of incentives or budget. The CDI staff members are simply told to go out and find MCC’s. These hospitals are often disappointed with the results.

Hospitals must realize that in every successful business, you get what you pay for. A successful clinical documentation improvement program can potentially bring in a great deal of otherwise lost revenue, as well as increase the case mix index.

While appropriate documentation for appropriate documentation’s sake is the clinical documentation improvment team’s mantra, hospitals must do more than plant a seed for documentation improvement results to grow. Similar to a garden, they must water and fertilize their programs in order to see them bloom.

Editor's note: Hoffman, at the time of this article's release, was a CDIS in Tampa Florida. She has been a nurse for more than 20 years and enjoys writing, painting, and travelling.