News: North Carolina boasts the most CCDS

In the fall of 2009 Leah Taylor, RN, CCDS, and Jennifer Love, RN, BA, CCDS, president and vice president of the North Carolina ACDIS chapter respectively, challenged members of their local chapter to earn the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential. They wanted to encourage camaraderie and to help establish the credential as a mark of professionalism in the industry. Their goal was to help NC finish with the most CCDS’ in the country.

 

Given the larger and more populous states they were competing against, the challenge was considerable. But Taylor and Love and the CDI specialists in the tar-heel state put their hearts into it and their efforts paid off.

 

North Carolina currently has 42 total people who have either taken and passed the exam or who registered to take the exam and their results are not yet available. In second place is New York with 40, followed by California with 35, Texas with 33, and Florida with 31.

 

CDI specialists possess knowledge of a wide range of specialized disciplines, including anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. They have to understand official medical coding guidelines, CMS, and private payer regulations related to the Inpatient Prospective Payment System, and have the ability to analyze and interpret medical record documentation, formulate appropriate physician queries and then be able to benchmark and analyze their CDI program's performance.

 

For the nearly 300 CDI professionals who have taken the exam and in particular for the tremendous efforts of the North Carolina contingent, we cannot express enough congratulations. We are so proud of your efforts and thankful that so many have chosen the CCDS credential as the mark of distinction for this unique profession.