Meet a Member: Hussain tells newbies to “be fearless and don’t be afraid to seek help”

Faisal Hussain, MD, CCDS, CDIP, CCS, is the vice president of CDI solutions at Reventics, Inc. Hussain is based in Thompson Station, Tennessee, and is a member of the Tennessee chapter of ACDIS.

ACDIS Blog: How long have you been in the CDI field? Why did you get into this line of work?
Hussain: I’ve been in CDI for six years. In addition to medicine, I have always enjoyed teaching and numbers. In fact, had it not been for med school, I would have likely become an actuarial science major. CDI really gave me an opportunity to merge it all, especially as value-based purchasing (VBP) expands, risk-adjustment and its effect on quality measurement will become more pronounced. I feel really lucky and blessed to become a part of this great profession!

ACDIS Blog: What has been your biggest challenge?
Hussain: My biggest challenge has been the resistance to change that I have encountered from many of the senior executive leadership that I’ve worked with and under. Many of them do not have a sound understanding of CDI and simply see it a revenue generating machine, tracking the financial impact from queries on a weekly or monthly basis. These leaders usually have false ideas about CDI and really cause a lot of disillusionment to CDI staff, especially those who haven’t been a CDI for very long.

ACDIS Blog: What has been your biggest reward?
Hussain: My biggest reward has been seeing physicians go from naysayers to becoming believers, getting on board with the importance of accurate documentation to reflect true severity and complexity of their patients. It really is very rewarding when you see such a transformation.

ACDIS Blog: How has the field changed since you began working in CDI?
Hussain: In some ways it has and in some way it hasn’t at all. It all depends on the leadership. It saddens me to still see CDI teams only focusing on getting CCs/MCCs on the chart, with no effort to look beyond. ACDIS has done some great work, however, to create awareness and bring many CDI programs in to 2019 from 2006! More and more programs are now including patient safety indicators (PSI)/hospital-acquired condition (HAC) screening, hierarchical condition category capture into their chart reviews. Above all, the best CDI programs have realized that it is the physician education that will bring long-term success, and not the short-term band-aid fixes by queries alone.

ACDIS Blog: Can you mention a few of the “gold nuggets” of information you’ve received from colleagues on The Forum or through ACDIS?
Hussain: ACDIS provides so much great quality content, it’s very hard to pick just a few. Every conference I have attended has been enlightening. I also very much enjoy “In the news” segment on the ACDIS Podcast as it keeps me informed about the latest that’s happening in our industry, even if it doesn’t directly affect CDI. The Boot Camps are also great, and the one I attended a few years ago on quality was very helpful to me in getting up to speed with VBP, PSIs/HACs. Back then, they weren’t a focus of our industry but ACDIS helped us stay ahead of the curve and we achieved great success in improving our quality metrics.

ACDIS Blog: If you have attended, what are your favorite memories from the ACDIS conference?
Hussain: It is always fun to catch up with old friends. I see most of them just once a year at the conference, so I look forward to it every year. Hanging out with them is the best part. Also, one of the best keynote sessions I have ever attending was in 2017 by ZDoggMD—he had me in stiches throughout the entire hour!

ACDIS Blog: What piece of advice would you offer to a new CDI specialist?
Hussain: Be fearless and don’t be afraid to seek help. Every experienced CDI specialist you see around you was just as clueless when they started. Instead of being overwhelmed and feeling anxious due to the volume of new information thrown at you, look to close out knowledge gaps by interacting with your co-workers, including the ones outside your CDI team (read: coders!). It takes a village to create a successful CDI team, so learn to respect people from all educational backgrounds.

ACDIS Blog: If you could have any other job, what would it be? 
Hussain: An astronaut! That was my childhood dream and I wish I could see our beautiful planet from the outside. I am still hopeful that one day the commercial flights to space will become a reality!

ACDIS Blog: What was your first job?
Hussain: I wish I could share something cool, but there is a very limited set of physical skills that geeks like me have. It should come as no surprise that my first job was tutoring middle-school kids.

ACDIS Blog: Can you tell us about a few of your favorite things?

• Vacation spots: Singapore is a great place to go and have fun—I highly recommend it to those who haven’t been outside the country. Also, visiting India has been on my wish list for the longest time. Hopefully I will have that opportunity one day.
• Hobby: Watching TV (sports and politics).
• Non-alcoholic beverage: Virgin piña colada.
• Foods: Tough question for a foodie like myself! It is hard to beat a medium filet mignon though on most days.
• Activities: Playing tennis and cards.

ACDIS Blog: Tell us about your family and how you like to spend your time away from CDI.
Hussain: I am blessed to have a beautiful wife and a really busy 3-year-old daughter. We enjoy living in Nashville area, as there is lots to do and the weather is great. We are also expecting our second daughter soon, so we are very excited about the addition to the family. There will be too much girl-power in the house!

ACDIS Blog: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Hussain: Life is too short to keep grudges. Try to help others as much as you can and learn to forgive and move on. There is no point in harboring negative energy as it never leads to anything productive. There is great joy in genuinely helping others without any strings attached. Being successful in life is not a zero-sum game and we can all help each other and be successful together.