Note from the ACDIS Director: Why you should take ACDIS’ new CCDS-O certification exam
By Brian Murphy
We here at ACDIS have (affectionately) taken to calling outpatient CDI the “wild west.” The idea took root during our 2017 CDI Week due to its The Wild West: New Frontiers in CDI theme. But it’s quite apt.
In case you hadn’t noticed, there are many opportunities in outpatient CDI, ready to be tapped. Healthcare is increasingly shifting to outpatient settings and services, driven in part by the growth of Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare Advantage, and risk-based payer contracts. CDI is following suit, with CDI specialists working to clarify documentation in emergency rooms, clinics, and physician practices.
About 30-40% of ACDIS members have adopted some type of outpatient review, according to the 2018 CDI Week Industry Overview Survey, (and by the way the 2019 survey is now open so please take a minute to participate). But practices vary widely (and wildly). Some are reviewing patient’s clinic visits prospectively for hierarchical condition category (HCC) improvement; some are focused on physician evaluation and management codes. Others have found a good fit with CDI helping to ensure medical necessity and coverage of costly outpatient procedures and services, such as IV infusions.
It’s a new paradigm for CDI, pushing the profession outside of hospital walls and into uncharted waters. But with these new opportunities does come some chaos: A lack of best practice, a need for guidance, and most of all a reliable, objective way to measure the skills and competencies of professionals practicing in these new settings.
This led ACDIS to start work on a new certification in late 2017. Our volunteer CCDS-O exam committee put in an unbelievable amount of work over the past year and more developing the CCDS-O certification program, including its prerequisites, content outline, and the exam itself. We spent many long meetings discussing the various models, core competencies, and skill sets required of outpatient CDI professionals. We reviewed job descriptions, onboarding documents, training materials, and desired professional backgrounds and skillsets.
We are all very proud of the comprehensive and rigorous, but fair and reasonable, content outline. We are hoping that the exam helps to tame the “wild west” that is outpatient CDI and serves as mark of distinction to recognize those who have mastered its core competencies.
At this point, we need brave souls willing to take the exam. The final step before we officially “complete” the exam is to have a pool of examinees taking the test. Our committee will then evaluate score results and data, and make sure all test items are performing as they should, prior to setting the final passing score. Your score will count, but you will have to wait just a little longer before you receive your results. Know that you are performing a valuable service to this burgeoning new discipline in CDI.
Be one of the very first to wear the CCDS-O pin on your lapel. Demonstrate that you have mastered the core competencies of risk adjustment, HCCs, outpatient coding guidelines, and the fundamentals of evaluation and management.
Editor’s Note: Murphy is the Director of ACDIS. Contact him at bmurphy@acdis.org.