Physician queries and the use of prior information: Reevaluating the role of the CDI specialist

The electronic health record (EHR) has been a game-changer for CDI specialists. Information that was once buried in storage and hard to access is now at the fingertips of physicians and CDI specialists, leading to a more detailed reference and a richer picture of a patient’s medical history. This new technological reality, however, brings challenges as well, particularly for CDI specialists trying to reconcile the greater data access afforded by EHRs with documentation and coding regulations developed during a different age.