Book Excerpt: Physician engagement from the start

Physician support in the CDI decision-making process from the CDI program’s inception helps physicians see beyond the immediate obligation of documentation to the greater good such documentation provides.

Physicians, as a group, tend to have similar personality traits. For example, physicians are:

• Educated, so give them definitions
• Scientists, so give them data
• Proud, so illustrate how they rate against their peers
• Results oriented, so give them a goal

Many argue that the best form of physician education is physician involvement. The earlier physicians get involved in CDI development, the greater their investment becomes. At the CDI program’s inception, medical staff leadership or the facility’s chief medical officer (CMO) typically join the CDI steering committee to set overall goals from the program and expectations for physician response, involvement, and training. Physician investment in CDI at the highest levels trickles down through the physician ranks and encourages the involvement of the entire medical staff in day-to-day documentation improvement activities.

Many programs hire a physician advisor to act as a mediator between medical staff and CDI professionals. If your program has a physician advisor, tap into his or her experience. He or she often plays an important role in identifying CDI targets and providing both group and one-on-one education.

Editor’s note: This excerpt was taken from The Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s Complete Training Guide by Laurie L. Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CDIP.