All Entries in the "ACDIS" Category
Reminder: Dial in for Thursday’s quarterly conference call
Hi everyone, just as a reminder, the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) recently announced the date of its next quarterly conference call: Thursday, August 27 from 1-2 p.m. ET.
These calls are offered as a means for ACDIS members to network with one another and to discuss any clinical documentation improvement related issues. We have a few ACDIS Advisory Board members on the calls as well to help spark discussions.
We encourage your comments, thoughts, and questions during these calls. If you have any suggestions for discussion that you would like to forward along to our advisory board, please e-mail me at the address below.
ACDIS members have recieved e-mail instructions in advance of the call with dial-in instructions. If you are an ACDIS member and did not receive your instructions, or misplaced them, please e-mail ACDIS member relations specialist Sue Calabro at customerservice@cdiassociation.com .
Thanks,
Brian Murphy, ACDIS Director
Fall intro to ICD-9-CM offered in Boston
Gee, it seems like I’m all about the local trivia recently—from hazelnuts to evergreens, state flags to historic settlements. Well, since I’m apparently on a roll. Let’s talk about my hometown Boston.
- The first American lighthouse was built in the Boston Harbor in 1716.
- The first public school system was founded in Boston in 1635.
Boston Common is the center piece of the Olmstead designed Emerald Necklace of parks.
- When you take a stroll on the Boston Common, you are visiting the nation’s first public park, established in 1634.
- Boston Common is part of the larger Emerald Necklace parkway designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead who also designed Central Park in New York City and a little place call Moraine Farm in Beverly, MA, where yours truly married the love of her life five years ago. (By the way, according to the US Census Bureau, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country with 2.2 divorces per 1000 people.)
- The Hyatt Harborside Hotel in Boston is the site of the next stellar program “ICD-9-CM Coding Essentials: What Every CDI Specialist Needs to Know,” on September 21.
Now I’m not saying Shannon McCall’s class is as exciting as my wedding nor as relaxing as a stroll along Boston Common, it’s definitely a day full of invaluable information. I participated in this program during the 2009 ACDIS conference in Las Vegas and was nearly overwhelmed with the depth and breadth of tools she was able to cover. And for once I’m not just playing my own tune. Many CDI specialists who attended also found it beneficial.
“I would recommend this seminar to colleagues,” said Pamela Lindsey, RN, BSN, MCRMC, Fraser, MI. “It provides a good base of information for a CDS (RN) program. It was helpful to gain information on navigating through the ICD-9 manuals along with the other materials.”
They’ve extended the early bird registration rate through August 24, which saves you $100, and if you are currently an ACDIS member be sure to ask for member discounts too. To register, visit www.hcmarketplace.com.
2010 conference committee holds first meeting
The 2010 ACDIS Conference Committee held its first meeting on August 13, 2009. The committee includes:
- Sandy Artusi
- Margi Brown
Discussions begin for 2010 conference.
- Ann-Marie Carducci
- Sharon Cole
- Lynn Edwards
- Frances Frank
- Gail Gall
- Kara Masucci
- Vicki McMahon
- Lois Rubin
- Teri Sholder
- Arinda Skinner-Kennedy
At the first meeting participants reviewed their likes and dislikes of the 2009 conference and brainstormed ideas for 2010. The committee greatly enjoyed keynote speaker, Dr. Carl Hammerschlag and supported the inclusion of a general healthcare motivational speaker for the 2010 program even if he or she does not specifically address clinical documentation improvement.
The group also discussed the format of the 2010 conference. As many will remember the 2009 program offered three different breakout sessions per time block except for the general session held day. The conference committee supported this concept but will examine whether these sessions would better be tracked as specific to job title, theme, or level of CDI experience.
We’ll keep you updated in future posts regarding potential topic ideas and additional conference items.
Talk the CDI Talk
Join the CDI discussion
I don’t know how many of you subscribe to CDI Talk, but I think you’re missing out if you’re not subscribed. CDI Talk is an active talk group of ACDIS members and generates a lot of great discussion. It’s a good way to keep updated on the issues affecting CDI programs around the nation, and I would love to have you weigh in on the conversations. Signing up is easy (and free with ACDIS membership):
- Sign in to the ACDIS Web site (www.cdiassociation.com) with your password and username
- Go to our CDI Talk page, here: http://www.hcpro.com/acdis/cdi_talk.cfm
- Click the gray “subscribe button”
- Post messages by using the “create new message” button, or by sending a message to cdi_talk@hcprotalk.com.
Did you know: CDI Strategies is free
Time to toot the ACDIS horn again. (I’m getting good enough at it that I might be able to play “Row,
This is probably the only horn I'll ever know how to play. I wonder how many notes I can get it to make?
Row, Row Your Boat,” but I’ll never be good enough to break out the French horn for anything Mozart might have written. )
Blog readers who are also ACDIS members already know about the multiple opportunities ACDIS provides to glean and share information. However, many readers who are not yet members may not be aware of the variety of free content we offer particularly in the bi-weekly e-newsletter CDI Strategies.
CDI Strategies offers the latest CDI-related news and regulatory updates, tips for day-to-day program improvement and problem-solving, questions and answers from our advisory panel, book excerpts, and more. It comes to your e-mail inbox and is also archived on the Web site www.cdiassociation.com.
And while I reserve more entertaining, creative musings (what type of horn would one play if they were to tout their own tootings anyway?) to the ACDIS Blog, the CDI Strategies e-newsletter contains a wealth of information that serious CDI specialists need to maintain an effective program.
Okay, putting the horn away for now. Maybe I should try the cowbell next time. Everyone needs more cowbell…
ACDIS CDI Work Group update: Group chosen, work to begin
Hi everyone, I thought I would take a moment to provide an update on an exciting new initiative going on with ACDIS: the CDI Work Group. This is a group that, beginning in the next few weeks, will start a series of bi-weekly meetings to discuss common obstacles and best practices in the field of clinical documentation. Its goal is to produce detailed surveys, benchmarks, and best practices to share with the membership.
I’m personally very excited about this group and strongly believe that the diverse expertise it brings to the table–and the work it ultimately produces–will be of immense value to our ACDIS members.
We had over 50 applicants for the CDI Work Group but in the end we had to narrow it down to 15. The CDI Work Group consists of the following members:
- Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager for The Medical University of South Carolina
- Lisa Peterson, BS, RHIA, Manager of the Medical Record Department for the University of Tennesee Medical Center
- Jennifer Woodworth, RN, BSN, Manager of Clinical Documentation for MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, WA
- Glenda Hebert, RN, BSN, CCM, Clinical Documentation Specialist for CHRISTUS Hosptial St. Elizabeth in Texas
- Susan Payne, RN, BSN, Manager of Case Management/Social Services for Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in California
- Eileen Hickey, RHIA, Coordinator of Medical Record Services for Atlantic Health-Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey
- Karen Frosch, CCS, Clinical Documentation Manager for Christiana Care in Delaware
- Lena Wilson, RHIA, CCS, Manager of HIM Operations/Clinical Documentation Improvement Program for Clarian Health in Indiana
- Thenia Nesbeth-Blades, RN, MSN, CDI Specialist for New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia
- Luanne Jennex, RN, CDI Specialist for Westchester Medical Center in New York
- Donald Butler, RN, BSN, Manager of Clinical Documentation for Pitt Country Memorial Hospital in North Carolina
- Sue Muse, RHIA, CDI Director for Precyse Solutions in Kentucky
- Marta Boyd, RN, Documentation Specialist for Valley Hospital and Medical Center in Washington
- Adelaide LaRosa, RN, Director of the Clinical Documentation Improvement Program for St. Francis Hospital in New York
- Pat Danks, CCS, CPC, CPC-H, CCDS, Coding Quality and Compliance Consultant for Kindred Healthcare
The group will be directed by three members of the ACDIS Advisory Board, including Shelia Bullock, Wendy DeVreugd, and Garri Garrison. In addition, I’ll be participating as well.
The CDI Work Group will be an ongoing project and will attempt to address many issues within the profession, starting with staffing considerations. Over time we may be looking to add members of different backgrounds and experience to participate, so stay tuned.
Thanks,
Brian
ACDIS launches CDI Boot Camps
You’ve just been named the director of your hospital’s new clinical documentation improvement
For a four-day crash course in CDI try an ACDIS Boot Camp
(CDI) program and have the lucky opportunity to hire a handful of new staff. The skill set for this profession is diverse and nuanced. Once you find and hire the perfect candidate you still need to provide detailed education about the levels of expectations associated with their new career.
At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, I’ll come right out and say that these new “Boot Camps” can help. The CDI Boot Camp focuses on:
✓ Medical record review and physician query techniques
✓ MS-DRGs and reimbursement under the IPPS
✓ ICD-9-CM coding rules and regulations
✓ CDI program benchmarking and compliance initiatives
It’s a classroom setting course that discusses how to assess undocumented diagnoses based on clinical indicators; how to implement a step-by-step process for a thorough review; how the IPPS system works and how specific, accurate documentation determines hospital payment; how vital ICD-9-CM coding knowledge is to the overall CDI practice and compliance effectiveness of the facility; how to assess and query physicians regarding problematic diagnoses such as congestive heart failure, sepsis, renal disease, and encephalopathy, to build clinical skill-sets and medical record recognition
Phew, there’s a ton of other information that’s being covered during the four-day course. For more information about the CDI Boot Camp, download the .pdf of the brochure, contact Customer Service at 800/780-0584 or e-mail bootcamps@hcpro.com. ACDIS members save $150 off the registration fee.
Speakers sought for 2010 ACDIS conference
Do you have a great case study to share? Want to impress your colleagues with your clinical, coding, or query acumen? If so, we have a great stage for you: the 2010 ACDIS annual conference (June 3-4 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago).
ACDIS is interested in conducting sessions on all aspects of clinical documentation, including program process improvements, diagnosis-specific sessions (coding and clinical skill-set improvement), query techniques, MS-DRG assignment, ICD-9-CM coding/sequencing, quality measures documentation, data mining and reporting, medical record review techniques, program management, and more. Of particular interest is sessions that apply to mature/advanced CDI programs.
Benefits of speaking include free admission to the conference, an all-expenses paid trip, and industry recognition.
Click the link below to view our speaker application form. Please fill it out completely and and submit it to myself at bmurphy@cdiassociation.com.
2010 ACDIS Third Annual Conference speaker application form
I hope to hear from you soon,
Brian
How is your CDI program structured? Take this ACDIS survey
Benchmarking tools are an important part of measuring your CDI program’s success. You need to know how you stack up against other facilities of the same size and structure as you. This rings particularly true you hope to expand your current clinical documentation improvement program or start one from scratch. Furthermore, as ACDIS continues to build and define these benchmarking reports we hope we’ll be able to identify some significant trends and best practices for our membership.
For example, as you can see from the chart below 73% of respondents so far said MCC/CC DRG optimization represents their program’s priority. We hope you’ll add your voice and experience to the survey to help us provide the best picture of CDI programs today. To take the survey, click here.
Next quarterly conference call to be held Thursday, August 27
The Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) has announced the date of its next quarterly conference call: Thursday, August 27 from 1-2 p.m. ET.
As a reminder, these calls are offered as a means for ACDIS members to network with one another and to discuss any clinical documentation improvement related issues. We have a few ACDIS Advisory Board members on the calls as well to help spark discussions.
We encourage your comments, thoughts, and questions during these calls. Additionally, if you have any suggestions for discussion that you would like to forward along to our advisory board, please e-mail me at the address below.
ACDIS members will recieve e-mail instructions in advance of the call with dial-in instructions.
Thanks,
Brian Murphy, ACDIS Director