News: AHIMA study shows growth in CDI industry

By the end of 2104, more than 80% of all healthcare providers are expected to implement a CDI program, according to an AHIMA/TrustHCS report “The Growth in the Clinical Documentation Specialist Profession” published in Educational Perspectives in Health Informatics and Information Management.

Extrapolating from jobs studies, the report states that CDI specialist job postings increased by more than 200% from 2007 to 2011, and that CDI job postings in 2011 came in third after coders and health information technicians. To further define that growth, the report surveyed roughly 300 hospitals, of which 66% had implemented CDI programs. Another 41% of responding hospitals expected to implement a CDI program in the new year.

“The primary job opportunities will come from large hospitals,” the report states. “However, the data also suggest that CD[I specialists] will be in demand for medium hospitals… and even in critical access care facilities.”