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Conference Q&A: ‘CDI Career Ladder’
Want to climb the CDI career ladder? Two ACDIS speakers will tell explain how during today's presentations.
Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series of Q&As with presenters and participants from the 2012 ACDIS Conference in San Diego. The following features Jennifer Love, RN, BA, CCDS, and her co-presenter Janet Gentle, RN, BSN, MSN, CCDS on the presentation “CDI Career Ladder: Two Perspectives,” which takes place today, Thursday, May 10, 3:15-4:15 p.m.
Q: How long have you been a CDI professional?
JL: In 2008 I was hired as the manager of CDI for Novant Health. In 2011, I became the area director of Clinical Documentation Improvement for Kindred Healthcare.
JG: Seven years.
Q: What inspired you to follow this career path?
JL: When I was a Surgical Care Improvement Project analyst at Novant, my senior director informed me that the hospital system was considering implementing a CDI program. In discussions that followed, I was allowed to purchase The Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s Handbook. I read that book cover-to-cover! I was hooked! CDI was something fresh; a new challenge which definitely sparked my interest. I was hired as the manager of Clinical Documentation Improvement and the CDI program was implemented shortly thereafter.
JG: We had consultants who were brought in to redesign our case management (CM) department and establish a CDI program. They encouraged me to interview for the dual CM supervisor/CDI position which, within three years, turned into a full-time CDI position.
Q: What should someone who is interested in becoming a CDI specialist do to begin their career?
JL: I’d recommend they read The Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s Handbook, too, or check out the ACDIS website before making the leap. I would also encourage them to get approval to shadow current CDI specialists.
To take the CDI career path, the individual should be very attentive to detail, e computer savvy, and possess clinical expertise. To take on this career, the individual will be required to communicate effectively to everyone from coders to physicians. I’d also tell them to be honest with themselves regarding their weakness and strengths. If the CDI role plays up your strengths—go for it! I wish you the best of luck! Give yourself time to master this role, however. It will take months before you will feel truly competent. One more thing, you will make mistakes. No one in this field is perfect.
JG: Definitely research the CDI role first. And take part in ACDIS/AHIMA educational opportunities. In fact, join ACDIS/AHIMA on either the national or local level for educational and networking opportunities. Attend conferences/educational programs such as Boot Camps and look for an entry level position with a facility that will help train you.
Of course someone looking to advance their CDI career should be able to research best practices to improve current processes, know how to monitor effectiveness via internal audit/productivity measures, understand the importance of developing policies and procedures. There are other ways to advance your career, too. Those on the cutting edge of this profession know how to develop ICD-10 compliant queries or have become involved in their local ACDIS chapter.
Additional opportunities exist down some unexpected avenues such as CDI travel assignments and remote CDI at home, etc.
Q: If a CDI professional has been working in the field for a few years what steps should they take to advance their role, program, and/or career?
JL: Don’t let yourself stagnate. Always be reading something or pursuing something for your professional growth. Don’t rely solely on your employer to sign you up for conferences, classes, etc. Take the initiative yourself and your employer will take notice. Also, if you are interested in an opportunity for advancement—speak up! Your boss can’t read your mind. Once you’ve shared your interest, your boss then starts ‘grooming you’ for the next big thing. You never know!
JG: Develop a CDI team leader/coordinator position and consider yearly salary market adjustments in addition to raises. Look for reimbursement for conference attendance and tie that attendance to team education and CDI program process improvements. There are increasingly opportunities in collaborative environment and autonomous practice
Q: What steps can a CDI manager take to help staff members feel there are opportunities for advancement at their own facility?
JL: One thought is to implement a CDI career ladder program. Another thought is to encourage the employees to build relationships with quality, HIM, case management, and other related departments within the facility as opportunities for advancement may exist and/or open up in one of them. The specialized experience of a CDI professional along with the other skills one possesses would make for an appropriate transition during a needed time of new projects, etc.
JG: As mentioned earlier managers need to provide different educational opportunities and tie those opportunities to overall process improvements within the program. Empowering staff to take ownership of their own career is also important.
Q: What are you looking forward to most at this year’s ACDIS conference?
JL: I look forward to seeing the beautiful city of San Diego, those familiar smiling faces, and taking away at least one pearl of wisdom that will take me to the next level of CDI expertise.
JG: Presenting about career ladders! I am also looking forward to all the networking opportunities the great educational opportunities. Our local chapter the Michigan ACDIS is having dinner together on Wednesday night and then Friday I’m looking forward to the great Local Chapter Networking Lunch and Event. Of course, I’m looking forward to the sunshine and visiting the Pacific Ocean.
Q: What inspired you to become an ACDIS conference speaker?
JL: I felt compelled to share valuable insight from my recent CDI career change with my ACDIS colleagues. I wanted others who may be considering a CDI job change to be even more equipped and informed than I was during my job search.
JG: I am very passionate about creating a career ladder for nurses in alternative practices, such as CDI. Historically, clinical ladders have been developed for bedside nurses. The development of the specialty ladder at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital was innovative and based on original literature search, and it has afforded all NMRH nurses equity and opportunity for professional advancement.
Visit the poster presentation at ACDIS in San Diego
ACDIS attendees take in the information at the 2011 conference poster presentation. This year nearly 24 presentations are being offered.
If asked, could you describe your CDI challenges and successes on a 36 X 48-inch poster? Some of your peers have done just that and will boast their programs at the 5th Annual ACDIS Conference 2012 ACDIS Poster Presentation in San Diego.
The posters are a visual snapshot of program successes and offer you the opportunity to take tried-and-tested ideas back to your facility. Along with their posters, each presenter will provide a one-page description of the poster and the program it showcases.
Posters will be on display in the Elizabeth Foyer, outside the main conference and exhibit halls. We will be setting up later today, Wednesday, May 9, at 4 p.m., and a few will be installed early Thursday morning.
If you are attending this year’s conference, please make time to stop and view the posters, talk to the presenters, and ask questions. Your peers walk the same path you do and they can be an invaluable source of guidance.
If you cannot attend, don’t worry, we will be taking photos of the presentations and compiling a special report after the program so you can see all their hard work.
This year there are nearly 24 different presentations! Here is a list of what you can expect to see:
CDI program history and growth
- Analyn Dolopo, University of California San Diego Health, CDI Program Success
- Lisa Romanello, CJW Medical Center, The GPS of CDI
- AnnMarie Wells, CMC Main, CDI Growth in Evolving Health Care Industry
- Lynette Whitley, CMC Northeast, Program History
- Margaret Scott, Baylor Health, Inpatient Documentation Improvement Program
- Valerie Bica, Nemours-Alfred Dupont Hospital for Children, Pedi CDI, not a Medicare Program
Educational/promotional lessons
- Joi Freeman, Kindred Healthcare, Monthly Newsletter to Clinical Staff
- Cynthia Ziblis, St. Alphonsus RMC, CDI Newsletters and Educational Flyers
- Tim Weister, Mayo Clinic Rochester, CDI Education for Providers and Medical Students
- Diane Clement, Maine Medical Center, Advertise Your CDI Program
Multi-disciplinary enterprises
- Donna McIvor, KP Northern California, Remote RNs in CDI
- Wendy Platt, Baxter Regional Med Center, Using your Physician Champion to Captain Rough Seas
- Ellen Mitchell, Lutheran Medical Center, Multi-disciplinary Effort to Improve Documentation
- Kara Masucci, Morristown Memorial/Atlantic Health, It Takes a Village to Reinvigorate the Program
Quality and mortality measures
- Michelle Johnson, Quality Metrics
- Alicia Gordon, Fletcher Allen, Mortality Scores and CDI Nurses
- Pam Florence, U Kentucky HealthCare and UHC, What Drives Mortality?
- Dawn LaRoque, Riverside Health, CDI Impact on Morality Scores
- Mary Shaughnessy, Northwestern Memorial, Mortality Metrics Improvement
Additional efforts
- Sylvia Hoffman, Hoffman Consulting, Avoid Leading Queries
- Tara Kreiling, St. Mary Medical Center, Solve the Documentation Puzzle
- Susan Tiffany, Robert Packer Hospital/Gurthie, Regional Network in Rural Community
And don’t forget to vote for your favorite poster on Thursday! You’ll get a ballot in your conference bag. The winner will receive a fabulous blue ribbon to hang on their poster and then take home as a forever reminder of the 2012 Poster Presentations.
Conference excitement: All that’s missing is ‘Jingle Bells’
ACDIS jingle bells. Anyone have suggestions for some CDI related lyrics?
It feels like the days leading up to Christmas to me. I just can’t wait to get to the ACDIS conference in San Diego.
I admit that part of the attraction is the chance to get out of the office for a few days, take a plane trip to a great city, and let someone else cook my meals and make the bed. I know my husband will miss me, but I’m confident he won’t starve in my absence.
But the real reason I can’t wait to get to the conference is to meet the people who are driven by such passion for the work they do as CDI professionals.
I joined the ACDIS team last fall, but have worked for the parent company for 12 years, mostly in the marketing department. I wrote promotional copy for ACDIS for years, including the launch pieces back in 2007. I assumed—probably like a lot of your non-CDI peers—that writing thorough, detailed documentation was a given and probably easily done. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
In my short tenure with ACDIS I’ve developed a new respect for the work CDI professionals do. I have a pretty good handle on the mechanics of my job as the member services specialist. I can help you get certified; stay certified; award CEUs for your chapter meetings; fine tune the language in applications, web posts, and handbooks; and chase down the glitches and hitches that complicate moments in a busy day.
Now it’s time for me to learn about CDI from your point of view. I want to build my understanding of how you do your job and understand the foundational knowledge you all have obtained through your experiences that make you vital to your facility’s success. I want to learn the rules and the guidelines, and how to apply them.
You’re with ACDIS so you can be the best CDI professional you can be. I’ve got a similar goal: to be your best support partner. Let’s give it our best shot.
Pre-Conference Q&A: ‘The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI’
James S. Kennedy, MD, will present a two-day pre-conference regarding the role and responsibilities of physician advisors for CDI.
Editor’s Note: Over the coming days and weeks, we will post a series of Q&As with presenters and participants from the 2012 ACDIS Conference in San Diego. Today’s post features James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS, ACDIS Advisory Board member and a director at FTI Healthcare in Brentwood, Tenn. Kennedy will co-present the ACDIS pre-conference event titled “The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI: A collaborative approach for success.” The two-day session takes place Tuesday and Wednesday, May 8-9, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Q: What role should CDI physician advisors play in audit review and data analysis?
A: Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) physician advisors are critical to the entire process of ensuring the integrity of coded administrative data (ICD-9-CM and CPT) and its application to physician and hospital quality and cost efficiency measurement.
CDI is the process of preventing and reconciling inconsistent, incomplete, imprecise, conflicting, or illegible documentation to bridge the gap between treating physicians and coders. Physician advisors must be able to analyze data derived from these codes to target their efforts and should review the results from documentation audits as to hone their message.
Examples of these activities include:
- Data Analysis: ICD-9-CM coded administrative data is primarily used to determine, measure, and report severity and risk adjusted outcomes and cost data for various metrics. These include cost, length of stay, complications, mortality, readmissions, and the like.
Risk and severity adjustment means that the actual metric being measured (observed) is compared to the likelihood of that metric occurring (expected). CDI ensures the integrity of the expected metric, usually increasing it since many clinical descriptions are incomplete or imprecise, thus reducing the risk-adjusted metric.
Take for example the Colorado Hospital Report Card. Note that Colorado reports an actual mortality rate and a “risk-adjusted” mortality rate. There are instances when the risk-adjusted mortality is less than the actual mortality since the death rate is less than expected. There are others, however, where the risk-adjusted mortality rate is higher than the actual.
Another aspect is measuring complications of care. Some facilities code incidental serosal tears as “accidental lacerations.” Physician advisors would want to analyze Patient Safety Indicator data at their hospitals (e.g. from Thomson-Reuters, the Delta Group, and the like) to determine if the data driving these metrics is accurate.
For example, look at the website “CareChex,” a division of the Delta Group, to see how it ranks overall surgical care in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Physician advisors should partner with their chief quality officer to learn how these risk-adjustment methodologies work and how the definition, diagnosis, documentation, and coding of these conditions factor into them.
Armed with this information, the physician advisor can help develop systems that work with providers to accurately capture these metrics.
- Chart Audit: Physician advisors are integral to the chart review, given that they recognize the clinical scenarios that are often not documented completely and precisely. Imagine a patient admitted with a pH of 7.02, pCO2 of 100 and a pO2 of 40 and stupor requiring mechanical ventilation but only described as respiratory insufficiency with CO2 narcosis. This patient has acute hypercapnic respiratory failure and could potentially be labeled as having a metabolic encephalopathy. The physician advisor recognizes these scenarios and can help concurrent reviewer and coders recognize the circumstances whereby query would be prudent.
AHIMA published a nice summary of the role of the physician advisor, and you read more about the role in the January edition of the CDI Journal.
Q: How can a physician advisor help achieve buy-in from the medical staff for CDI efforts?
A: The best ways I know to achieve buy-in from the medical staff are to:
- Make CDI an academic exercise, emphasizing the definitions of clinical conditions. These can include:
- Transient ischemic attack versus stroke. Note that the 24-hour time frame is completely eliminated.
- Acute myocardial infarction vs. accelerated angina. Note the critical role of properly calibrating troponins and equating elevated levels with “symptoms of ischemia.”
- Acute kidney injury. Note that it is only a rise of the serum creatinine of only 0.3 mg/dl
- Ask the quality officers of your hospitals to generate individual physician reports regarding their own cost efficiency and outcomes, outlining the actual and the expected outcomes. Should a physician see that their expected mortality rates is higher than expected and that CDI is a strong solution addressing the “expected” component, his or her participation and interest is likely to increase!
Q: How involved should the physician advisor be in the day-to-day operations of the CDI program?
A: Given that most physician advisors have their own private practices, they do not need to be involved with the direct day-to-day operations of initiating queries. They should, however, be available at designated times to support concurrent reviewers and coders regarding the clinical circumstances assessments of clinical situations requiring query and to aid in their construction.
If at times a physician does not respond, the physician advisor may potentially have a collegial conversation about a query. One must be cautious, however, to frame this conversation about defining a patient’s condition without putting the physician on the defensive.
One of the fun things a physician advisor can do is support the development of the electronic medical record as to make the capture of complete and precise documentation less onerous to the practicing physician.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about this year’s ACDIS Conference?
A: Wow….what’s not to look forward to? ACDIS is everything a CDI professional, coder, or physician advisor would want—clinical conversations, problem solving, medical informatics, and collegial interaction with like-minded individuals working to solve the challenges we all share.
It’ll be great to be with old friends and make new ones! Not to mention that all this occurs in downtown San Diego, in a phenomenal setting (this is a beautiful hotel), right next to Balboa Park (let’s rent a bicycle and ride!) and close to Sea World, the ocean, and all that makes southern California great!
I must say, however, that the most anticipated event for me is the Physician Advisor pre-conference where Dr. Trey LaCharité and I spend two days training physicians from all over the nation to understand and embrace CDI principles.
I feel that this contributes to the professional practice of medicine and empowers physicians to successfully negotiate healthcare reform. Needless to say, I’m very excited about the conference!
Conference Q&A: ‘The Art of Communication in CDI’
Colleen Stukenberg will present at the ACDIS Conference in San Diego.
Editor’s Note: Over the coming days and weeks, we will post a series of Q&As with presenters and participants from the 2012 ACDIS Conference in San Diego. The first in this series features Colleen Stukenberg, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CCDS, whose presentation “The Art of Communication in CDI and Beyond,” will take place on Thursday, May 10, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Q: What core communication competencies should CDI professionals come to the role with?
A: While there are three main aspects I will address at the conference, I will add that professionalism, honesty, and respect for yourself and others are important traits for those working in the CDI role. These qualities will carry you far in life. If you do not have these in the CDI role, it can be difficult to communicate with others and earn their respect. You are working with other professionals with advanced education and they need to know that you are trustworthy and respectful. (You need to attend the session to hear my top three, though.)
Q: What communication talents can a CDI manager expect to be inherent and what elements can a manager help to instill in CDI team members?
Some characteristics are innate, meaning people are just born with certain talents. When interviewing a new CDI staff person, you only have a limited time to know whether this individual will be the right fit for the role. The person may act nervous in the interview but you should take note to observe how he/she interacts with you. Then have a team interview to see how he/she interacts with the team. You want someone that not only says he/she is a team player but also demonstrates it, as this is a team-player role. The CDI specialist will need to be able to interact clearly, honestly, and positively with various roles including physicians, nurses, and coders. Furthermore, the CDI specialist will need to be able to portray a professional positive attitude in meetings that may include administrative or board meetings.
Q: Can you name two or three common communication missteps that CDI professionals should be aware of?
A: Thinking too narrowly, thinking there is only one right answer, or thinking that the CDI specialist already “knows” the job. Education should never stop. We can learn from the expert and the novice. While we all have various roles, we ultimately are there to help improve patient care by promoting accurate documentation of the patient’s true clinical picture.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about this year’s ACDIS conference?
This is the first time I am speaking at the ACDIS conference and I am very excited. Attending the various sessions, activities, and networking with colleagues and the exhibitors are definitely on my agenda. I am also looking forward to seeing all of the friends and acquaintances I have met over the past few years through ACDIS.
The 5th Annual ACDIS Conference won’t be all work
We have some of the fun events planned for San Diego! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact ACDIS members services specialist Penny Richards. We look forward to seeing you there!
Poster Session: Starting Thursday morning, check out the 2012 Poster Session in the Elizabeth Foyer outside the exhibit hall. Twenty-three of your colleagues prepared posters detailing CDI programs, improvement strategies, and on specific topics such as queries, mortality, and physician engagement. You’ll find a ballot in your conference bag to vote for your favorite poster.
THURSDAY
Wear purple and orange today. ACDIS staff Brian Murphy, Melissa Varnavas, and Penny Richards have a surprise for some special conference attendees.
Breakfast: Kick start your morning with a continental breakfast as guests of MedPartners CDI.
Lunch: Join us for the annual awards luncheon where we’ll introduce the 2012 CDI Professional of the Year and the two winners of the 2012 Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement awards. The buffet-style luncheon is sponsored by Maxim Health Information Services.
Join CDI Search Group for a San Diego harbor cruise.
Evening: Following the day’s conference activities, exhibitor CDI Search Group will host a San Diego harbor boat cruise and dinner. Tickets for this event will be limited to 250 guests. To reserve your tickets, visit www.cdisearchgroup.com. On their home page you’ll find a link to a brief survey to complete in order to receive your boarding pass and two drink tickets. Boarding is from 6:30 – 7 p.m. The cruise is from 7:45 – 8:45 p.m.
Evening: If you are from California and decide not to go on the cruise, join members of the California ACDIS Chapter at the ‘Top of the Hyatt’ for cocktails and snacks. It’s right in the hotel so you don’t have too far to go. They will gather beginning at 6:15 p.m. Please email gallanjt@sutterhealth.org if you plan to attend (to give the group a headcount).
A number of other local chapters will also be hosting after hours events. If you’d like to find out more, visit the ACDIS Local Chapter page and email the leader for your region.
FRIDAY
Early Morning: Weather permitting, ACDIS Member Services Specialist Penny Richards is going to climb into her walking shoes and take a morning stroll. Her destination is the Kissing Statue at Tuna Harbor near the USS Midway Museum—about a two-mile round-trip trek. More details to come at the conference.
Regional Spirit: Wear your ACDIS local chapter gear or something special that celebrates your hometown or region. For example, New Englanders are invited to wear Patriot’s or Red Sox gear and the FL ACDIS Chapter has created its own T-shirts and encourages attendees to don their Florida apparel.
Lunch: Join our California ACDIS hosts at the Local Chapter lunch. Pick up your box lunch in the exhibit hall and bring it to the main hall for an ACDIS Bingo game. (If you prefer, you may enjoy lunch in the hall with exhibitors or outside on the hotel decks). Participants will be asked a number of trivia questions that relate to squares on the bingo cards. You’ll compete for prizes with colleagues from your state/area. Meta Health Technology is our luncheon sponsor.
Ideas for fun in San Diego
Planning on going to San Diego to attend the fifth annual ACDIS conference (May 10-11)? There’s plenty to do in the city and if you can build some personal time into your trip, I’ve got a few suggestions for you.
The Gaslamp District
The Gaslamp Quarter National Historic District is eight blocks long (from Broadway to Harbor Drive) by a little more than two blocks wide (4th, 5th, and 6th Avenues) for a total of 16 and one half blocks of shopping, dining, entertainment, and Victorian architecture excellence. It’s an easy walk from the conference hotel. Visit the web site, click on the link for coupons and enjoy discounts from some of the area merchants.
The Kissing Statue in San Diego is just one of the fun sights to see.
The Kissing Statue
The 25-foot tall, 6,000-pound sculpture is a rendition of the famous photo of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square in New York City at the end of World War II. It’s on loan to the city of San Diego and due to be replaced with a permanent painted bronze statue. At this writing, we’re not sure when the statue will be moved or when the new one will be installed, but look for it. And if your honey is with you, you can mimic the pose at the foot of the statue for your own photo to remember! It’s located at the foot of G Street and adjacent to the USS Midwest Aircraft Carrier Museum.
USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum
The USS Midway Museum is an unforgettable experience. It’s an actual naval aircraft carrier that served in the United States Navy for 47 years. Explore the exhibits, see restored aircraft on the flight deck, and take a self-guided audio tour that’s narrated by Midway sailors. Chat with docents who will share their stories about serving on board. Located on the harbor in downtown San Diego.
Old Town
Step back in time and visit beautiful Old Town San Diego, the birthplace of California. It’s right in the city and accessible by the Metropolitan Transit System. You’ll find historic sites and parks, wonderful shops and restaurants. This is a “don’t miss” for history buffs.
The San Diego Zoo
Travel from the savannah to the arctic at the San Diego Zoo. The zoo features animals from A (armadillos) to Z (zebras), including pandas, koalas, jaguars, wallaby, and wild dogs. View five species of eagles (including the bald eagle), as well as gila monsters, komodo dragons, and Panamanian golden frogs. Wear your walking shoes or take the in-park trolley. The zoo is located inside Balboa Park and you can access from the Metropolitan Transit System.
Balboa Park
A beautiful park with gardens and walking trails, museums (including Air & Space Museum, Auto Museum and the Natural History Museum),and the San Diego Zoo. You can access the park from the Metropolitan Transit System
Hotel del Coranado
The Del is the most magnificent and elegant place I’ve ever visited. When I was there a few years ago, I watched a fashion photography shoot on the beach. Built more than 120 years ago, The Del has been visited by princes, Presidents, and Hollywood elite, and has served as the backdrop for movies and books (such as Some Like It Hot, which starred Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis; The Stunt Man, which starred Peter O’Toole; Wicked, Wicked, which was completely filmed on location there, and the 1990 version of My Blue Heaven, with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis). I’m going to visit The Del and I’d love to have you come along! We’ll take the ferry across the bay and then hop a bus to our destination. Oh, I almost forgot to mention: The Del is rumored to be haunted.
The San Diego Padres at Petco Park
The Padres will be in town on Monday-Wednesday May 7-9, playing the Colorado Rockies. Monday’s and Tuesday’s games begin at 7:05 p.m.; Wednesday’s game has a 12:35 p.m. first pitch.
Public transportation
San Diego has a great public transportation system to help you get around the city and enjoy the sights.
Need more ideas?
Talk to a San Diego local. Ask the front desk staff at the hotel for their suggestions about places to visit, where to shop, and where to get a great meal. You know that business web sites tout theirs as “The Best in the City”. The locals really know where to go to find the hidden jewels that will make your visit to San Diego one to remember.
You can also visit the region’s official travel resource at www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors.
I’m looking forward to not only a great conference but visiting all the sights and sounds of San Diego and I hope you enjoy them as well!
Cutoff nears for May 12 San Diego CCDS Exam
Are you planning to take the CCDS Exam at the ACDIS Conference in San Diego on Saturday May 12?
You must register for the San Diego location no later than April 11, as we have to submit the list of names to the exam company three weeks in advance. You will not be admitted to the exam room if your name isn’t on the list.
Click this link for exam particulars and to register. Email Penny Richards with questions.
Good luck!
Pre-conference hotel rooms available at Embassy Suites San Diego
Embassy Suites located about a block from the ACDIS conference has additional rooms available for attendees.
We have been informed that The Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego is currently sold out of guest rooms for the nights of the ACDIS Pre-Conference: ICD-10 for CDI Basics Boot Camp and the ACDIS Pre-Conference: The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI: A Collaborative Approach for Success, however we would like to suggest The Embassy Suites as an alternative option as it is only one block away from the conference hotel, and is offering a $179 rate for ACDIS conference attendees. Please be sure to mention that you are with the ACDIS Conference when booking your room. Additionally, you may want to check www.hotels.com and www.Travelocity.com for other options.
Embassy Suites Downtown San Diego
601 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101
Hotel website: www.sandiegobay.embassysuites.com
Telephone: 619-239-2400
Rate: $179
Book online: http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/S/SANDNES-ACD-20120504/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG
March 9: Last day for early registration
The cutoff date for early registration for the 5th Annual Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists Conference is Friday, March 9. This year’s conference takes place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, in San Diego.
The conference offers two days and three tracks of sessions including:
- Exciting new keynote speaker Dr. Janet Lapp speaks on “Change: The Choice is Ours”
- Day two tracks on compliance and quality and its relationship to CDI
- Department of Justice discussion regarding Medicare claims recoupment case
- Breakout sessions on neonatal and pregnancy reviews, at-home work arrangements, career ladders, and ICD-10
- Annual awards banquet and local chapter networking lunch
In addition, this year’s conference features two pre-conference events on May 8-9:
- ICD-10 for CDI Boot Camp
- The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI: A Collaborative Approach for Success
We strongly encourage participants to register early and to reserve their hotel rooms as rooms typically quickly sell out. For more information, call 877/240-6586.
