Note from the ACDIS Director: Thank you, ACDIS 2019 attendees and sponsors!

By Brian Murphy

It’s the last day of #ACDIS2019—and hard to believe that the finish line is already in sight. Our theme this year was Charting the Course. As I mentioned in my opening welcome remarks, we don’t know what the final destination is for CDI. Regulations and reimbursement models are constantly changing. Healthcare delivery is shifting from the inpatient acute care setting to outpatient clinics and physician practices. Technology is transforming how physicians document in the chart, and how CDI specialists conduct their day-to-day work. In short, the waters are deep, and rough. In this atmosphere, the only constant is change.

So how do we chart a course in uncertain times? By working together. I don’t believe that life is a zero-sum game, and that there is a finite pool of resources that we’re all fighting for. I believe that we get better as a species by working together and lifting each other up. That’s what ACDIS is all about. It gathers like-minded CDI professionals together and helps to foster best practices to lift all boats.

In that spirit, I’d like to thank the generous support of our 2019 exhibitors and sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible. In particular, I’d like to take a moment to thank TrustHCS, our exclusive title sponsor, for their generous support. Everyone I’ve met in TrustHCS, from their CEO Torrey Barnhouse on down, have been great, genuine people. Special acknowledgement as well to Diamond sponsors Optum360 and UASI, and Platinum sponsors 3M, Chartwise, Iodine, Nuance, and Medovent Solutions.

If you aren’t following these great companies on their various social media platforms, and taking advantage of the wonderful content they provide, you’re missing out. Take a moment on your flight home to like and follow them. You can find a complete list of our sponsors and exhibitors here.

So, what is next for ACDIS? First, a deep breath, and a recap of our conference to see what we did right, and what we need to improve on for #ACDIS2020. Make sure you fill out your post-conference evaluations, not only to collect your valuable CEUs, but also to let us know to “do more of this” or “please improve on this next year.” We do read all your comments and take them to heart.

Then, we’ll be on to our second big event of the year: The ACDIS Symposium: Outpatient CDI. Speaking of uncertain waters, and charting the course, CDI is moving rapidly into outpatient services, driven in part by the growth of Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare Advantage, and risk-adjusted payment and quality initiatives. We created this symposium to put a special focus on CDI practices in the outpatient setting. I hope you can join us this November 14-15 in Austin, Texas. I’ve never been myself, and I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city on the rise.

In the meantime, I hope you found at least a couple actionable takeaways from this year’s conference and are ready to chart your own course to continued success in CDI. We’ll be right here with you!

Editor’s note: Murphy is the director of ACDIS. Contact him at bmurphy@acdis.org.