Local Chapter Notices: South Carolina Chapter seeks volunteers; meeting recaps and announcements
Two local ACDIS chapters met last week to take advantage of some ACDIS insight.
On Wednesday, July 23, California ACDIS Chapter members joined ACDIS Education Director Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, CCDS, CDIP, who discussed how to analyze the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER). (Click here to take a look at her PowerPoint presentation.) The PEPPER provides an organization with insight into potential vulnerabilities that can result in denied claims and recoupment and offers CDI programs a tool to determine focus diagnoses and educational training points.
Ericson used one CA ACDIS Chapter member’s donated (redacted) PEPPER data to show how CMS’ quarterly report illustrates potential for over and under payment for hospitals within given Medicare Administrative Contractor region, state, and national averages. She pointed out potential documentation improvement targets within stroke and pneumonia.
"A high volume of cases with a single CC or MCC can impact mortality index and increase vulnerability to denials," Ericson says.
On Thursday, July 24, the Michigan ACDIS Chapter met via the wonders of technology to take a virtual tour of the ACDIS website and learn more about the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential and exam process. More than 40 people joined for the webinar, which demonstrated how to easily find helpful articles, how ACDIS polls can help CDI programs benchmark their own efforts against other programs in the nation, where to find additional salary surveys and benchmarking analysis, and other quick tips for navigating the site.
Local chapter leaders can always call on us to pitch in for meetings. We’re happy to help as we are able. Want more information, or need to start a group in your area? Contact Associate Director Melissa Varnavas.
Upcoming local chapter events include:
Texas
The next Houston-area ACDIS Chapter meets Thursday, August 14, at 12:30 p.m., at Clearlake HCA in Webster. For information, email Emeta Gibson at emeta.gibson@hcahealthcare.com.
Georgia
The Georgia ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, August 15, at Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, featuring Jonathan Elion, MD, president of Chartwise Medical Systems. RSVP to georgia.acdis@gmail.com.
Kentucky/Southern Indiana
The Kentucky and Southern Indiana ACDIS Chapters join for their annual group meeting Wednesday, August 20, 1 to 4 p.m., at Baptist Health in Louisville. Topics include hepatorenal and cardiorenal syndrome. RSVP to Rita Fields at rita.fields@bhsi.com.
Ohio
The SW Ohio ACDIS Chapter holds an informal gathering and cookout later this summer. If interested, contact Kay Kolb Huber at 937-298-3399 ext. 57809, or email Kay.Huber@khnetwork.org.
Tennessee
The Tennessee ACDIS Chapter meets on Friday, August 22, at TriStar Division office, 110 Winners Circle in Brentwood. For information, email Sherri Clark at sclark@mc.utmck.edu.
N. Illinois
The Northern Illinois ACDIS meets on Wednesday, August 27, noon to 3 p.m., at Northwest Community Hospital. For information, email Nancy R. Ignatowicz at NRMIgnatowicz@comcast.net or Colleen Stukenberg at CStukenberg@fhn.org.
South Carolina
The South Carolina ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, September 5, at Providence Hospital in Columbia. The chapter currently seeks speaker proposals for the meeting.
The SC ACDIS Chapter also seeks nominations for two open positions on the leadership board—secretary and vice president.
For information, email PJ Floyd at floyp@musc.edu.