Note from the ACDIS Editor: CDI Journal focuses on rules, regulations, guidance

by Linnea Archibald

Fall is the time for cider, apple picking, and pumpkin patch pictures. For those in the CDI profession, though, it’s also a time for regulatory updates. The November/December edition of the CDI Journal seeks to give readers a guiding light through the shifting autumnal landscape of regulatory updates.

Within this edition’s pages, readers will learn about the fiscal year 2020 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule, how to CDI can help with patient safety and present on admission indicators, the possibilities of outpatient CDI/quality collaboration, and CDI specialists’ role in emerging population health initiatives.

This edition also includes advice from industry experts such as Lori-Lynne Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CHDA, COBGC, on the 2020 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, Caryl Liptak, MSHAI, RHIA, and Regené Collier, RN-BC, BSN, COS-C, HCS-D, on CDI in the home health setting, and Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, SFHM, CCS, CCDS, on conflicting documentation.

Of course, this edition also includes our standard staples: Associate Editorial Director Melissa Varnavas discusses how CDI professionals can become “rule followers” (even though she admits to be rule-adverse herself), Advisory Board Member Susan Schmitz, JD, RN, CCS, CCDS, CDIP, reviews the high-level 2020 changes CDI professionals need to be aware of, Laurie Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC, unpacks the third quarter Coding Clinic release, Regulatory Committee Member Teresa Krepps, RHIT, CCS, CCDS, summarizes the September Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting, and Kelly Ellis, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, shares her CDI story.

Additionally, this edition also features a special publication from ACDIS, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition offering consensus recommendations for optimizing EHRs for nutrition care. We’ve also included a FAQ on the ACDIS/AHIMA “Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice” brief.

The ACDIS team hopes you’ll enjoy this latest edition and find some helpful information within its pages. The January/February edition will focus on CDI expansion opportunities, so if you’d like to contribute, wish to share your CDI journey, or suggest an article idea, please feel free to email me anytime.

Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor for ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org.