All Entries Tagged With: "CCDS"
New e-learning courses open to ACDIS members
In my spare time, I am a creative writing student at a low residency program. Essentially, that
Not an actual sample.
means I’m taking a correspondence course on how to be a better writer. Every month I mail off a packet of papers. My adviser takes out her colored pens, marks them up, and sends them back. It is a little intimidating. I trust you share my “red pen” fears. But I graduate in January (hooray), and hopefully these writing lessons have made the Blog, e-newsletter, and other publications more enjoyable for you.
Sometimes, however, I catch myself wishing for a simpler way, something more akin to our own ACDIS online learning library. As far as I know though there are no writing CEUs for assistant association directors. But if you happen to be in the market for a convenient way to collect CEUs for coding, case management, or CCDS certifications, ACDIS can help.
Just last week we posted two new e-learning courses: one on hospital acquired conditions and another on present on admission. These new programs join sessions on 2009 IPPS MS-DRG update, understanding and applying the 2009 ICD-9-CM codes, inpatient coding: physician queries, and major complications/comorbidities.
Since I won’t be earning CEUs for writing this blog post, I’ll be jumping online in the coming weeks to tackle the ACDIS e-learning offerings myself. I promise to post my progress to all of you here. Feel free to place your bets now on how I’ll do.
If you’ve taken any of our courses please let us know what you think. ACDIS plans to add roughly four new courses every year and we’d love your feedback about what to concentrate on in 2010.
Looking for ‘love’: Tips needed to motivate CDI staff
Lots of people love their jobs, but what motivates CDI specialists to go that extra mile?
Self-motivation is a good thing and to some extent most people are self-motivated. Particularly when it comes to clinical documentation improvement professionals. Let’s face it, it’s go-go-go job investigating query opportunities, working the nursing units, hunting down doctors. But what actually motivates professionals to go that extra mile? What makes healthcare professionals go that little bit further to either join a professional organization, go back to school, obtain their coding credentials, or sign up to take the test to join the ranks of the new ACDIS designation of certified clinical documentation specialists (CCDS)?
I imagine it might take a little more than mere encouragement, a little more than just a little love amongst professional colleagues. What do you all think? What are some of things you’ve been doing to help motivate staff members? Let me know! I need ideas!
~Jennifer Love
Member generosity highlights ACDIS conference
It was great to get to know so many ACDIS members down in Las Vegas last week. I need to send out a special thank you to my fellow blogger Sylvia Hoffman and her colleague Darlene Shelffo. Sylvia wasn’t able to make it to this year’s show due to prior engagements but sent along a beautiful crystal vase and a lovely card for me in Darlene’s care. I couldn’t believe the extent of their generosity. But I guess that’s really just emblematic of the rest of the wonderful people I met this week.
Take the professionals recognized during Thursday’s luncheon. A 13 member committee worked with ACDIS Director Brian Murphy to develop the second annual conference. They met frequently to sort through possible conference topics and iron out the agenda, establish multiple conference tracks, and work out any potential cliches. Without them the conference couldn’t become a reality. The members included:
- Susan Boley
- Wendy Clesi
- Tiffany Colliver
- Julie Doy
- Vicki Ellinger
- Alice Hayden
- Robin Holmes
- Kyle McElroy
- Maria Narvaez
- Wendy Poskanzer
- Kimberly Richert
- Teri Shoulder
- Teri Wilson
It was also the generous efforts of volunteers that enabled ACDIS to launch the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist exam on Saturday, May 16. The CCDS board members included:
- Deborah Biskner
- Jill Brocker
- Margi Brown
- Mary Beth Brown
- Gloryanne Bryant
- Tamara Hicks
- Kathy Kerfoot
- Wanda Myers
- Mary Phelps
- Suzanne Rogers
- Lynne Spryszak
CCDS Exam: What you need to know before you go
If you’re one of the more than 100 people who signed up to take the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist exam, make your way down to Florentine I on Caesars’ Promenade Level, as early as possible, on Saturday, May 16.
Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the exam begins promptly at 8 a.m.
Members of the ACDIS Certification Board spent many, many hours diligently working with Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP) to create the most appropriate, fair, balanced test possible. AMP requires strict adherence to its test taking rules. Please keep in mind the following items:
You will need to show two forms of identification when you register. Acceptable forms of primary identification include:
- Current driver’s license with photograph
- Current state identification with photograph
- Current passport
- Current military identification card with photograph
Acceptable forms of secondary identification may include any type of credit card or identification with your name and signature.
You will be allowed to bring two books into the exam. These include:
- DRG Expert, published by Ingenix; and
- ONE of the following standard drug reference guides:
- Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference
- Nurse’s Pocket Drug Guide
- Physicians’ Desk Reference
- PDR Nurse’s Drug Handbook
- Nursing Drug Handbook/Lippincott’s
Other than your identification and these texts please do not bring any personal belongings with you. We strongly recommend that you leave your personal belongings in your hotel room, or check them with the hotel staff at the bell desk.
The test takes approximately three hours. Some people will finish early and others may require the entire three hours-however this is a timed examination. We will track the time and make announcements accordingly.
(Tip: Allow yourself enough wiggle room in your travel plans. We will begin reading the testing instructions at 8 a.m., the official “clock” starts once we tell you to open your test booklets. This may mean the test could take you until 11:15 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. to finish.)
You’ll be notified in roughly 30 days regarding your certification status. If you pass the
After four days of intensive CDI work you'll need some R&R pool side.
examination, you are allowed to use the designation CCDS. Passing candidates will receive a certificate. If you do not pass the examination, you may schedule a reexamination appointment by contacting HCPro, Inc., at 800/650-6787.
If you’re not rushing off for your plane post test, we highly recommend you take some much needed celebratory relaxation time out by the pool. Put your feet up. You’ve just participated in a tremendous intellectual experience. So now’s the perfect time to start thinking about next year’s trip with the ACDIS crew. . . Ahhhh, Chicago!
ACDIS news makes ADVANCE headlines
ACDIS makes the news
ACDIS hasn’t hit the New York Times yet but the way the profession, and this association, are going we’ll make headlines in the mainstream media in no time.
For now, however, a big bowl of congratulatory recognition to our Director Brian Murphy, CPC, and Advisory Board Member Bill Haik, MD, director of DRG Review Inc., Fort Walton, FL, featured in Lynn Jusinski’s article “New Certification Unveiled: ACDIS introduces the certified clinical documentation specialist exam” published in the magazine ADVANCE for health information professionals.
I wondered where else our good name was popping up so I did a quick Google news search and found an article Mr. Murphy wrote in the journal For the Record in July 2008 titled “Organization Serves CDI Specialists’ Needs”.
From now on, whenever I find a mention of ACDIS or clinical documentation improvment programs on the World Wide Web, I’ll post them to our ACDIS groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.
New information on CCDS certification, Code of Ethics posted
Hi everyone, we’ve recently added some new informational Web pages on the upcoming Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential. You can find them here: www.cdiassociation.com/certification. The links to the pages are located along the top of the screen. I hope you find them helpful.
I also wanted to let you know about a few new developments regarding the CCDS:
1. We’ve received a lot of questions about the location of the Assessment Centers. To find the test center nearest you, visit the Applied Measurement Professionals Web site and click on your state when the map comes up. You will be able to take the CCDS exam at these Assessment Centers starting in mid-late June (for details on how to schedule a test at an Assessment Center, please see our Program Handbook). The Assessment Centers offer computerized testing and the results are instant.
2. We had to narrow down the “standard drug reference guide” that test-takers can bring into the exam to five specific titles. Please note that in addition to DRG Expert published by Ingenix, test-takers can bring one of the following five drug guides into the test with them:
- Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference
- Nurse’s Pocket Drug Guide
- Physicians’ Desk Reference
- PDR Nurse’s Drug Handbook
- Nursing Drug Handbook /Lippincott’s
3. Finally, we are proud to note that we have launched an ACDIS Code of Ethics. This document is intended to serve as a guide for the professional behavior of ACDIS members and nonmembers who hold the CCDS credential. ACDIS is indebted to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), who allowed us to borrow from their organizations’ own Code of Ethics to help ACDIS construct its own.
You can read the ACDIS Code of Ethics here: http://www.hcpro.com/acdis/code_of_ethics.cfm.
Thanks, and as usual, your comments and questions are appreciated,
Brian
ACDIS conference tops 200 attendees
More than 200 customers raised their glasses in a toast to beat the world record for the number of
Number of ACDIS conference attendees tops 200. That's better attendance than one pub's attempts to top the wine-tasting world record. Go CDI!
participants in a synchronized wine-tasting session, on May 28, 2008, at the Blue Bell Inn, in Scunthorpe, England. Well, we’ve got Blue Bell wine-drinkers beat. Today, the number of ACDIS 2009 annual conference registrations topped 200! We had 202 participants sign up by the close of the day!
I’m not saying the ACDIS annual conference will be as much fun as a wine-tasting in England. . . Well, yes I am. It will probably be more fun than a wine-tasting in England. Not to disparrage the Blue Bell Inn, but we’re going to Las Vegas. And although we don’t have a wine-tasting planned we do have 200 (sorry, 202) clinical documentation improvement specialists all coming to learn the latest best practices for CDI administration, compliant and effective physician queries, techniques for detailed medical record review, incorporating core measures documentation, Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) defense. . . and if you want a glass of wine to toast your intellectual prowess you can meet me down at Caesar’s Seahorse Lounge.
CCDS exam handbook posted!
Hi everyone, questions have been coming fast and furious about the forthcoming certification and credential for CDI specialists, the certified clinical documentation specialist (CCDS). I am happy to say that we have completed the CCDS examination handbook. This document should answer all of your questions regarding
- the purpose of the credential
- eligibility requirements
- what to expect on the test, including a detailed content outline and sample questions
- how to apply for the test
- how to take the test at an Assessment Center
You can download the handbook by clicking here: http://www.hcpro.com/content/228297.pdf, or by visiting our certification page at www.cdiassociation.com/certification. You can expect more information on the certification in the coming weeks, including some brand-new informational web pages on the ACDIS Web site.
Thanks, and feel free to keep the questions coming,
Brian
CCDS tests in your neighborhood
Vegas is beautiful in May. (I’m not personally aware of this fact. I’m just saying Vegas is probably beautiful any time of the year.) But some of you may not be able to make it to the ACDIS conference. Rest assured we’re developing additional ways to share conference information with our members including possible audio CDs and downloadable presentations.
Perhaps the most common questions we’ve recieved so far about the conference is the request for additional information about the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential and its corresponding exam. Later this month, ACDIS Director Brian Murphy plans to post a CCDS examination handbook as a free download for ACDIS members on our Web site. This will contain a detailed content outline of what to expect on the test, as well as a few sample questions. It will certainly help your study efforts. In the future, ACDIS members can expect a more formal study guide.
Our special advisory team developed the test questions based on standard CDI experiences and common requirements. This talented bunch spent nearly a year working with Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP) to develop the most targeted exam questions possible. AMP’s also helping facilitate remote CCDS testing sites around the country for those who can’t join us in Vegas.
As ever, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact us.
Update on certification, including prerequisites
General requirements
- Candidates applying for the examination will be required to list their documentation specialist experience. Applications may be audited to verify work history.
- Once a candidate has accumulated the necessary hours these do not expire.
- All work experience must be met by the application deadline.
- At least one year of documentation specialist experience or equivalent is required for each eligibility requirement.
Allowable resources
Examination takers for the CCDS will be allowed to bring the following two books with them into the examination:
- DRG Expert, published by Ingenix
- Standard drug reference guide
Books will be checked for additional pages or loose notes inserted or attached inside. These are not allowed to be brought into the exam. Test-takers may write hand-written notes into the books but not to an excessive degree.
Thanks, and please ask your questions here, or e-mail me at bmurphy@cdiassociation.com.
Brian