All Entries Tagged With: "local chapters"

May meetings and June plans for local events

Maryland: The MDHIMA hosts its meeting 1-5 p.m., Thursday, May 3, at the Convention Center in Baltimore. The

Attendees of the April Dallas, TX, ACDIS meeting.

agenda features ACDIS Advisory Board member Robert S. Gold, MD, and discussion of CDI-related efforts including:

Getting Medical Staff Interested in ICD-10
Metrics of CDI
Writing Effective Queries

For information, visit http://www.mdhima.org/ContactUs.html.

Alabama: The first ACDIS Alabama Chapter meeting takes place Friday, May 11, 10 a.m., at Capstone Village Retirement Community in Tuscaloosa. Breakfast and lunch will be served for $15 for those who RSVP. For information, contact Kim S. Murphy at 205/759-7371 or email kmurphy@dchsystem.com.

West Virginia: The newly formed West Virginia ACDIS Chapter holds its first meeting Monday, May 14, at 1 p.m., at CAMC Hospital in Charleston. For information, contact Sheila Harrison at 304/389-0689 or email Sheila.Harrison@camc.org.

Washington: The Evergreen (WA) ACDIS Chapter hosts a teleconference meeting Tuesday, May 15, 8-9 a.m. For information, contact Jennifer Woodworth at 206/215-2073 or email Jennifer.Woodworth@swedish.org.

Massachusetts: The Boston, MA AAPC Chapter hosts a CDI-related event Wednesday, May 16. Click on this link to learn more or to register.

Virginia: The VA ACDIS Chapter holds its spring meeting Saturday, May 19, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC. Agenda includes:

Networking, open items, discussion
Presentation by 3M regarding Potentially Preventable Complications
Lunch and networking
ACDIS 2012 Conference recap
Credentials for the CDI specialist: CCDS vs. CDIP
CDI specialists in the IT department: Interaction with EHR design and implementation
Business wrap-up

RSVP by Friday, May 11, for lunch. For information, contact meeting host Mark N. Dominesey at 202/660-6782 or email mdominesey@sibley.org. Those interested in additional chapter information can sign up for the Virginia ACDIS Yahoo group! http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/VA_ACDIS/

Connecticut: The CT ACDIS Chapter holds its meeting Thursday, May 24, 9-10:30 a.m., at the Hospital of Central Connecticut Bradley Memorial Campus. There will be a discussion of lessons learned during the 2012 ACDIS National Conference. For information, call MaryAnn Shanley at 860/714-1261 or email mshanley@stfranciscare.org.

Kentucky/Illinois: The next session of the Kentucky/Illinois ACDIS Chapter will be Thursday, May 24, 1-4 p.m., at St. Mary’s and Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, KY. For information, contact Rita Fields at or email rita.fields@BHSI.COM.

June meetings

Florida: The Florida ACDIS meeting will be held on Friday, June 1, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Jupiter (FL) Medical Center. Reservations requested by May 23 to Iris at 561/263-5783. For additional information, visit the Florida ACDIS Chapter website at http://flacdis.org/ or its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/acdisflorida.

Texas: The Austin/San Antonio ACDIS Chapter holds its first meeting Tuesday, June 5, at the University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin. For information, contact Barbara Presley at 512/324-7679 or email bapresley@seton.org.

Georgia: The next meeting of the Southeast Chapter of the Association of Clinical Documentation Specialists will be Friday, June 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA. For information, contact Bonnie I. Epps at 404/712-4550 or email Bonnie.Epps@emoryhealthcare.org. Visit the Southeast Regional ACDIS Chapter Facebook page for announcements and other information.

Heartland: The new Heartland ACDIS Chapter (encompassing the region where MO, IL, KY, TN, and AR meet) will host its first annual meeting HealthPoint Plaza in Cape Girardeau, MO, on Friday, June 22, 5-7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. For information, contact Sara Baine at 573/331-6932 or email sbaine@SEhealth.org.

Save the date

Kentucky/Southern IN: The KY and IN ACDIS Chapters will host a combined Regional Chapter Meeting on Thursday, August 23, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Columbus Regional Hospital. For information, contact Susan Bradford at 317/776-7285 or email sbradford@riverview.org.

May 01, 2012 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 0

In order to maintain your CCDS credential you must maintain ongoing CE credits.

Educational programs offer more than just the training you need to stay current or enhance your skill set. They are a great source of the continuing education (CE) credits you need to maintain your certification.

Many ACDIS local chapters offer CCDS CE credits for their programs (and the credits are free for local chapters). If you have a local chapter, take advantage of these learning and earning opportunities. If your local chapter doesn’t offer CCDS CE credit, ask your chapter leadership to apply. Better yet, volunteer to handle the application process. It’s quick and simple. Click here to download the application.

If you plan to attend a training that doesn’t specifically state it offers CCDS credits, ask the program sponsor to apply for CCDS CE units from ACDIS. The cost is minimal. Click here to download the application.

The entity that provides the training should give you a certificate or other notice that your participation earned you a specific number of CCDS credits. It is up to you to keep track of which programs you attend and to maintain a file of your certificates.

ACIDS audits a percent of recertification applications each month and you may be required to submit proof you attended training sessions. If you mail your recertification application, attach copies of your certificates—it saves time if you are audited.

April 04, 2012 | Penny Richards | Comments 0

More than a dozen opportunities to learn locally this spring

Texas: The state-wide TX ACDIS group holds its annual meeting Friday, April 6, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at KPMG Building in Dallas. The agenda includes:

Registration and networking
Chapter Business Meeting
The Importance of Capturing Shock in the ICU Setting, Cindy Pritchett
Lunch
IPPS and ICD 10: What the future holds, Beverly Cunningham
Value Based Purchasing, Scott Robins, MD
Networking, Q&A

For information, contact Joanne Dukes at 972/566-5526 or email joanne.dukes@hcahealthcare.com.

New Orleans: The NOLA ACDIS Chapter holds its next meeting on April 11, 4-6 p.m., at Semolina’s restaurant in Metairie, LA. For information, email Melissa Mayer melissamayer@ejgh.org.

Indiana: The Central Indiana Chapter is gearing up for its next meeting Wednesday, April 11, 10 a.m. to noon, with featured speaker Nancy Ignatowicz presenting “CDI Success: How Do You Measure It?” For information, contact Susan Bradford at 317/776-7285 or by email at sbradford@riverview.org.

PHIMA: The Pennsylvania AHIMA group holds a CDI-related education session on Friday, April 13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Wesley Village Conference Area, in Pittston. The agenda includes:

Continental Breakfast
Physician Buy In for your CDI Program, David McCann, director, Berkeley Research Group, LLC
Physician Leadership and CDI Initiatives, Herbert Weinman, MD, president, BCE Technology
CDI Programs: Why you Need One, Make it Successful, and Justify It, Mario A. Perez, III, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P director, clinical consulting, J.A. Thomas & Associates
Lunch
Roundtable Discussion: CDI Programs Implementation and Use, AHIMA CDI Tool Kit
Review of Documentation Requirements for Optimal Reimbursement, Caroline Rader Znaniec, manager, Health Care Advisory Services, Grant Thornton, LLP

For information, email Eve Ellen Mandler at Eve-Ellen.Mandler@stclair.org.

Nevada: The next Southern Nevada ACDIS meeting will be on Wednesday, April 18, at 5:30 p.m. Guest speaker Karen Zaninovich Parker, RHIT, 3M Health Information Services consulting, will discuss how CDI specialists can begin ICD-10 documentation improvement now. She is making a special trip from Utah to join the Nevada ACDIS Chapter group. Attendees are invited to bring a brown-bag dinner. Admission is free. RSVP to Ailsa Kompare by April 16 at 702/343-7232 or email ailsa.kompare@kindredhealthcare.com.

Tennessee: The TN ACDIS and the THIMA host a joint session Friday, April 20, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., focused on ICD-10 and the CDI program development. The agenda includes:

ICD-10 and Beyond: The changing world of classification systems, Kathy Hallock, RHIA
CDI from a Physician’s Perspective, Drew Rothschild, MD
Best Practices for CDI Programs: Practical advice for improving or creating a successful program, Kyra Brown, RHIA, CCS
What you should be doing now to prepare for ICD-10: How you can help your physicians improve documentation practices now, James Kennedy, MD, CCS
Working lunch: HCA’s Approach to CDI.
Group work: groups will choose a diagnosis or procedure where documentation must drastically change to support ICD-10 coding. The groups will discuss ways to improve documentation practices relative to those situations. In the second half of the group work session participants will discuss how to propose and justify a CDI program to hospital administrations.
Reports from group work and open forum

Registration is $120. Online registration closes at the end of the business day on Tuesday, April 17th.
Click here to register. For information contact, Wanda M. Johnson executive director, TN Health Information Management Association, Nashville, at 615/242-7275 or email wanda@thima.org.

Michigan: The MACDIS Chapter will hold its quarterly telephone conference call on Thursday, April 19, noon to 1 p.m. The guest speaker is ACDIS Advisory Board member Fran Jurcak, RN, MSN, CCDS, director of CDI Practice for Huron Healthcare in Chicago. She will discuss ICD-10, goals/objectives of a CDI program, CDI staff productivity standards, leading queries,and the benefits of the CCDS certification.

The July MACDIS conference call is in its planning stages. The October quarterly meeting will be a joint regional meeting in collaboration with the Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northern Illinois, ACDIS associations.

For more information, contact Janet Gentle at 231/487-7509 or email jgentle@northernhealth.org.

New York: The next Albany, NY-regional ACDIS meeting will be held Wednesday, April 25, 2-4 p.m., at the Krause Center at Samaritan Hospital in Troy. For information, contact Lois Rubin at 518/525-1081 or email LRubin@sphcs.org.

Illinois: The next Northern Illinois ACDIS meeting will be held on Friday, April 27, 12:45 p.m., at Centegra Hospital, in McHenry. For information, contact Colleen Stukenberg at 815/599-6820, or email CStukenberg@fhn.org.

Maryland: The MDHIMA hosts its meeting 1-5 p.m., Thursday, May 3, at the Convention Center in Baltimore. The agenda features ACDIS Advisory Board member Robert S. Gold, MD, and discussion of CDI-related efforts including:

Getting Medical Staff Interested in ICD-10”
Metrics of CDI
Writing Effective Queries

For information, visit http://www.mdhima.org/ContactUs.html.

April 03, 2012 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 6

Update: Local Chapter meetings

There are few upcoming meetings I wanted to bring to your attention.

First, the FL ACDIS Chapter meets tomorrow, Saturday, March 17, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Regional Medical Center, Bayonet Point, in Hudson. The agenda includes:

Pastries and coffee, donated by Panera Bread, and registration/opening comments
George Klimis discussion of “The Road to Outpatient CDI”
Dr. Mark Michelman Q&A: “Ask a Physician: Clinical Questions from the Florida Chapter ACDIS Membership”
Lunch, featuring homemade corned beef and cabbage and sandwiches from Publix (mint chocolate brownies and Irish crème cake for dessert)
Sylvia Hoffman presentation titled “Keeping the Wolf at Bay: Query Compliance and Risk Reduction.”

There will be five raffle baskets themed:

Quality Time with Your Pet
Sweet Treats
Time to Garden Gift
Relaxing Over Spring Break
Leprechaun’s Delight

One lucky raffle winner will earn money towards their ACDIS Conference attendance expenses.

The meeting’s game will be in a Family Feud format with limericks regarding predetermined diagnoses likely to represent those patients. The teams will try to guess the diagnoses and receive a shamrock coin for each correct guess. The team with the most shamrocks wins St. Patrick’s Day-themed prizes.

For more information about the Florida ACDIS Chapter, visit its website http://flacdis.org/.

Next, I wanted to share the following thoughts written by Judi Bates, RN, BSN, CCDS, CDI specialist at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, NJ, who has teamed up with Debby Dallen, RN, clinical documentation coordinator at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, to host the first Philadelphia regional CDI networking meeting. Excited about the event which which will be held Thursday, March 22, 8-10:30 a.m., at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Bates writes:

“Nothing grows in a vacuum. With that thought in mind a new networking group will have their first meeting on Thursday, March 22. The ACDIS website is a great way to collaborate via e-mail/CDI Talk and the ACDIS Blog. For some, that little bit of networking is all they need. But I am excited about being able to go to an ACDIS local chapter meeting, where we can share and learn in a face-to-face venue. Whether our gathering proves to be big or small, I know this forum will be a catalyst to solving problems and working efficiently.

“The purpose of an organized meeting in the local area is to share; share the good, bad, and ugly of our profession. Actually I hope that when we do gather next week, our discussions will mostly be about the positive aspects of our jobs and that when we do discuss problem areas that we may help one another through our CDI growing pains. I am looking forward to talking with like-minded people, people who won’t give me that quizzical look when I tell them my title is CDI specialist.

“When I started as a CDI specialist more than three years ago, it didn’t take long before I was curious to see how other people did this job. I also wanted to pick people’s brains about what didn’t work and what did at their facilities. Efficiency is the name of the game, after all. That was when I began chatting with many individuals via ACDIS, one of which is the co-chair of this group, Deb Dallen.

“Our paths have crossed a few times over the years but it wasn’t until ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas suggested we start this group that we got together. So we are hoping to have lots of CDI specialists join us next week. We hope you’ll come with great ideas and positive energy to spark the potential for improvements in world of CDI in this area.

“Membership to ACDIS is not mandatory, so if you know someone who doesn’t belong and is interested, bring them along. You can find all the information you need under the tab ‘Local Chapters’.”

Bates and Dallen say that the first meeting will be informal and informational in nature featuring a meet-and-greet and open networking discussion. RSPV to Judi Bates via e-mail at Batesj@lourdesnet.org, or by phone at 856/757-3161. Or contact, Debby Dallen at dallend@einstein.edu, or by phone at 215/456-8902.

As a reminder, the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Minnesota ACDIS Chapters all also meet in the coming weeks. Like Judi, we know how valuable these local networking events can be. Frequently, they present an inexpensive way to stay informed on important CDI-related topics, and to learn from others’ experiences.

You can find a list of meeting information in a previous ACDIS Blog post or by visiting the Chapter Meeting tab under the Local Meetings section of the ACDIS website.

March 16, 2012 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 0

Early on the Florida ACDIS Chapter developed its own logo.

By Kimberly A. Richert, RN, CCDS

I started the Florida ACDIS Chapter back in 2009. There were only 15 chapters in the country then. Now there are nearly 40. At the time I was a lead CDI specialist for Morton Plant Mease (MPM) Healthcare system in Clearwater, Fl. After attending my first ACDIS conference that spring in Las Vegas, I knew I had to get the CDI specialists and programs in our state involved. After attending that first conference, I realized that our area of expertise (CDI) was BIG and that it was only going to get BIGGER.

There was great support from our upper management in the Morton Plant Mease Hospital which allowed us to move forward with our dream. (Thank You, Clare Garrard, RN, DSN, manager of the CDI department, for allowing this to happen!) The CDI team at MPM’s Clearwater facility started making phone calls to other local facilities to see if they had anyone of this specialty in their system. It turned out that Tampa General’s CDI program was up, trying to run with the CDI concept, and form their department. A few more phone calls and we found CDI teams at St. Anthony’s hospital in St. Petersburg and Tampa General Hospital.

We had enough interested participants to hold a meeting and form the Florida ACDIS Chapter. We held our inaugural meeting at my facility. There were 17 participants from diverse backgrounds including RNs, coders, and physicians. Click on this link to listen to that meeting in its entirety.

After that we formalized our structure and elected a president, vice president, and secretary/treasurer. Now our

Several participants in an ACDIS Florida Chapter meeting donned floppy hats to celebrate the Kentucky Derby.

membership has increased to nearly 100 participants from all over our great state. We hold quarterly conferences that typically take place on either a Friday or a Saturday at a different host facility each time. We have held meetings as far north as the Florida panhandle at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola and as far south as Jupiter, at the Jupiter Medical Center. We typically decide on a “meeting theme” to add to the enjoyment of the event. Participants have enjoyed wearing hats for “Kentucky Derby Day,” masks for Halloween, even grass skirts for a luau.

While our chapter members like to enjoy themselves, our main purpose is to provide a collegial venue for networking, a space to provide information and education to the CDI specialists and related professions working in the Florida region. Our goal is to provide a cohesive bond between CDI specialists in diverse hospitals and clinical settings throughout Florida and provide advocacy for the CDI role. Since its inaugural meeting, we have been fortunate enough to offer presentations regarding RAC efforts, denials, transition to ICD-10, compliant query creation, electronic queries, and so much more.

In the beginning, there was no nationally recognized credential on which we could tout our experience and expertise in the CDI role. Since the creation of the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential, however, most of the Florida ACDIS members have become certified. Congratulations to those who now have the CCDS behind their names! We are so proud of you!

And big kudos to all of you who have helped to start and sustain this wonderful chapter. Thank you, to those who continue to support this chapter throughout each year. You are the ones who keep us going.

As our Florida ACDIS Chapter grows we hope to keep communication open between individuals working in this new and expanding field and to have the collaboration with all other departments involved. We hope to see you out on the floors or at one of our upcoming meetings!

Editor’s Note: For information about the Florida ACDIS Chapter visit its website at http://flacdis.org/ or visit the Local Chapter page on the ACDIS National site www.acdis.org.

February 15, 2012 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 0

Get a jump on your networking/education resolutions with these January meetings

New England

There's no better way to celebrate the New Year than with these educational opportunities. Make good on your resolutions. Get involved.

The next New England ACDIS regional meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 9, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, MA. The day-long event features AHIMA certified ICD-10 Trainer Kelley Godin, CCS, who will present a discussion regarding ICD-10 for CDI.

Admission is $30. AHIMA and ACDIS CEU’s will be available. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. Space is limited. Send check or money order to: Kelley Sears, 480 School St, North Dighton, MA 02764. Please include your email address as you will receive a confirmation email that you should bring with you to the program. Jeans will be allowed with a $5 donation for charity.

For information, contact sears.kelley@yahoo.com or kelley.sears@caritaschristi.org.

Northern Illinois

The next Northern Illinois CDI meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. For information, contact Nancy R. Ignatowicz, at 815/806-2322 or by e-mail nancy.ignatowicz@provena.org. Or contact Colleen Stukenberg at 815/599-6820 or CStukenberg@fhn.org.

Maine

The Maine ACDIS Local Chapter will meet at Midcoast Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. For information, contact Theresa Davis at 207/735-8340 or tdavis@emh.org.

Nevada

The Southern Nevada Association of Clinical Documentation Specialists holds its next meeting Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Guest speaker former ACDIS Advisory Board member Wendy DeVreugd will discuss “How to measure the success of your CDI program.” RSVP to Ailsa Kompare by Jan. 11, 2012 at 702/343-7232 or ailsa.kompare@kindredhealthcare.com.

Michigan

Michigan ACDIS chapter, M-ACDIS, is planning to meet via a telephone conference call on Thursday, Jan. 19, noon to 1 p.m. For information, contact Janet Gentle, 231/487-7509 or e-mail jgentle@northernhealth.org.

California

The next California ACDIS webinar featuring a presentation regarding the role of CDI in RAC reviews and audit prevention will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 9-10 a.m., PST. For information, contact Dexter D’Costa, MBBS, MHA, at Dexter.G.Dcosta@kp.org.

Other chapter news

The North Carolina ACDIS chapter now has a web site. Visit http://ncacdis.org/ to see photos from its November meeting and to learn more about recent events and initiatives. For information, contact Leah Taylor at 704/878-7436, or e-mail Leah.Taylor@iredellmemorial.org.

Editor’s Note: If you are interested in joining an existing local chapter please visit the Local Chapter page on the ACDIS website. If you do not see a group listed for your area please e-mail ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com

January 03, 2012 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 7

September meetings include CDI Week after-hours events

Connecticut

The CT CDI networking group meets Thursday, September 8, 9-10:30 a.m., at The Hospital of Central Connecticut, Bradley Memorial Campus in Southington. For information, contact MaryAnn Shanley at mshanley24@yahoo.com.

Georgia

The next Southeast ACDIS meeting will take place Friday, September 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon. RSVPs are requested to Jamie Doster at james.doster@emoryhealthcare.org or by phone at 404/578-0262.

Plan to arrive by 9:20 a.m. to allow time for parking, registration, morning refreshments, and networking. Save time by submitting your membership application (see below) and pay dues to the treasurer prior to the meeting date. Attached are:

Membership application if you wish to join the chapter. Annual dues are $25 with check made payable to “SECACDIS.” All quarterly meetings are included in the membership dues.
Meeting attendance application: Application to attend just one meeting for non-chapter members. Cost is $10 per meeting.
Agenda: Note the meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be an optional Facebook crash course following the meeting for those wishing to learn how to interact on the chapter’s Facebook site.
Minutes from the last meeting in June to be voted on.
Bylaws to be voted on at next meeting.

New York

A CDI round table discussion will be held on Thursday, September 15, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. For information, contact Than Than Lee at 212/824-8180 or email ThanThan.Lee@mountsinai.org.

CDI Week Meetings

(Editor’s Note: Meeting locations listed in italic denote special, after-hours events associated with CDI Week not necessarily formal “chapter” events.)

San Francisco Bay, CA

Is organizing a happy hour meet-and-greet for CDI and related professionals on Wednesday, September 21, 5-8 p.m. at the Clement Street Bar and Grill. All CDI-related professionals are welcome to drop by for drinks and/or appetizers and dinner. RSVP to dexter.g.dcosta@kp.org or call 573/529-1791.

N. Illinois

The next Northern Illinois CDI chapter meeting will be at Delnor in Geneva, on Thursday, September 22, 1-3:30 p.m. For information, contact Colleen M. Stukenberg by phone at 815/599-6820 or by e-mail at CStukenberg@fhn.org.

Las Vegas, NV

The Nevada ACDIS Chapter will host a CDI Week happy hour Friday, September 23, 5-8 p.m., at the Fire Fly, 3900 Paradise

Take a peek at the Fire Fly menu. Those Vegas CDI professionals sure know how to celebrate CDI Week. Want to host an after-hours event for CDI in your area? Post the information below or email mvarnavas@ cdiassociation.com

Road, Las Vegas. The event is a “buy your own” but because it is a tapas bar, items are typically under $10. It should be a bunch of fun and a great networking opportunity! Here is a link to their website if you want to see what they have.

RSVP to Alisa Kompare at Ailsa.Kompare@kindredhealthcare.com or call 702/343-7232.

Los Angeles, CA

A gathering of CDI-colleagues from the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley areas are invited to attend a happy hour event in honor of CDI Week Friday, September, 23, 5-8 p.m., at the Yard House – Paseo Colorado in Pasadena. For information and to RSVP contact, Cris Gumayagay at cris.gumayagay@ahmchealth.com.

California

Our next ACDIS-CA Chapter meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28, 9-10 a.m. The speaker will be Wendy DeVreugd from Kindred Healthcare who will be presenting on Kindred’s model of CDI. For information, contact Dexter D’Costa at dexter.g.dcosta@kp.org or by phone at 573/529-1791.

Save-the-date

New England

The NE Regional CDI network meets Wednesday, October 5, 1-3:30 p.m., at Lowell General Hospital’s Clark Auditorium. The meeting will feature a presentation by Richard Birkhead, MD, FACC, Chief of Cardiology regarding documentation for fluid overload vs CHF, Cor Pulmonale, pericarditis, and tamonade, among other topics. For information, contact Kelley Sears at Kelley.Sears@steward.org or call 508/954-7432.

Tri-State (WI, MI, MN)

The ACDIS Chapter leaders from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota invite CDI specialists and related professionals to join them for the first Tri-State Regional Meeting Saturday, October 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells, WI. The agenda includes:

Registration
Strategies for dealing with difficult physicians
Physician query process: The ins and outs
Lunch
Continually educating physicians to avoid staleness in your program
Over documentation: Challenges and Solutions
Collaboration between coders and CDI professionals to break down the silos
Roundtable discussion

Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. Five CEs will be provided for those who need CEs for the CCDS credentials. For those needing lodging a block of rooms has been reserved for October 14 and 15 at $129 per night inclusive of taxes. Reservations can be made by calling the Kalahari directly at 877/253-5466 by Wednesday, September 14and request the WI-ACDIS room block. After this date, the prevailing hotel room rate may be charged at the discretion of the hotel.

Registration is $50 and the deadline is October 1. For information, contact Heidi Hillstrom at HHillstrom@slhduluth.com or call 218/249-5461.

Virginia

The fifth quarterly ACDIS Virginia Chapter will meet Saturday, October 22, with Robert Gold, MD, CEO of DCBA, Inc., as the guest speaker. Gold will discuss “CDI Initiatives: Start now for ICD-10.” For information, contact Linda Steinhoff by phone at 757/312-5154 or email Linda.Steinhoff@chesapeakeregional.com.

September 01, 2011 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 0

Don't let daily pressures get you down. Take time to review your CDI program successes.

Thinking about CDI programs that haven’t worked out, programs one might call “failed,” and facing a bit of deadline pressure on some projects here at work, got me feeling a bit blue recently. So, frankly, I feel like taking a moment to reflect on a few of the successes that CDI programs can (and should) brag about.

Staffing growth: Often a CDI program starts with one or two individuals but is able to add staff as time goes on. Such growth often illustrates a need for additional staff who can continue to conduct thorough reviews when the existing staff are overloaded and provide for vacation coverage, etc. The recognition of the value of continuous CDI staffing points to an administration that understands the value of CDI and perceives the need to expand the program. Expanding the CDI program to a larger patient population, payer pool, and focus illustrates the benefit of increased attention on total medical record completeness and accuracy (pushing past the largely financial focus), whether that be due to purely internal conversations, broader CDI professional discussions (such as those explored here on the ACDIS Blog, or via other avenues such as CDI Talk, and other ACDIS publications) or to some extent influenced by external issues such as quality/core measures or RAC.

Pride of achievement: Outside of one’s own facility, CDI professionals can take pride in helping to mentor other CDI programs and their staffs. Participating in a state or regional meeting is one way to talk about your own program’s successes and learn from the successes (and failures) of others. Furthermore, hosting a CDI networking meeting that others hail as an outstanding success can be a real morale booster for yourself and your whole team! (Just look at the various posts on the ACDIS Blog about the many wonderful programs offered at state meetings.)

Through participation in local/regional networking events you will soon be able to brag about:

Preparing a significant presentation that was well received.
Incorporating program improvement initiatives associated with casual conversations held during meetings.
Watching documentation trends develop and improve due to query discussions and documentation improvement opportunities discussed at the meetings.
Mentoring a new CDI specialist and watching their awareness “click.” (Of course, that experience can be repeated again and again, although sometimes it takes a long time to get to complete awareness).

Growth of our professional organization: There were more than 600 people at the national ACDIS conference in Orlando this past April. Given the state of the economy and the national feeling regarding healthcare expenses, a 20% growth in registration for our professional association is simply amazing. There are more than 2,700 ACDIS members and more than 12,000 subscribers to bi-monthly e-newsletter CDI Strategies. If that’s not growth, I don’t know what is.

Expansion of CDI positions: The number of new programs (at least anecdotal) continues to grow. Look at the number of open CDI-related professional positions available. You can look at the ACDIS Job Positing page or just conduct a simple Google search to see the influx of openings. There’s no doubt that our experience and expertise is in demand. (Have you received any calls from recruiters lately?)

CDI program development: National trends revealed through ACDIS surveys, online polls, and CDI Talk conversations show an increased focus on complete and accurate documentation captured in the medical record and a shift away from the traditional origins of a CDI program focused on queries for financial gain. Additionally, the maturation of the professional can be seen in the increasing number of CDI specialists who have obtained their CCDS credential and who have volunteered to take on additional projects for ACDIS and AHIMA to further the profession.

In short, the sophistication, poise, and professionalism of our membership amazes me, inspires me, and drives me. Here are two examples of my personal inspirations:

Bravo to the program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) in Winston-Salem, NC (featured on the NCACDIS site) who recently added four new CDI specialists to the existing strong team of 11. This is a program that has been in existence since 1999 and several years ago achieved a complete shift of focus to encompass severity of illness and documentation accuracy. With the additional staff, I understand they are going to be reviewing ALL inpatient medical records. In addition, their performance in regards to metrics such as mortality index is something to really strive for!
There are several “voices” on CDI Talk that I eagerly look forward to reading. I learn something new all the time and frequently forced to contemplate subjects a little deeper. I feel I grow professionally a bit every day because of the generosity of these folks who contribute to our CDI community. I am look forward to the opportunity to participate in conversations with peers that lead to personal reflection and professional growth.

I’d love to hear about your successes and moments of pride and joy be they large or small, personal or national. When was the last time you CELEBRATED at your organization? Make note of it here or write me back. If you haven’t celebrated in a while consider setting aside the week of September 18-24, the newly designated Clinical Documentation Improvement Week to spotlight your program’s achievements.

June 21, 2011 | Donald A. Butler | Comments 0

North Carolina launches chapter website

Hello all!

I am sending this message out to NC ACDIS Chapter members. A website for our group can be found at www.ncacdis.org. Please take a second to check it out. There is not a lot on it yet, but several additions are planned. Among the postings will be a mission statement, articles written by chapter members, educational information, a list of chapter members achieving their CCDS, blog entries, and more. There is even a link where you can buy a shirt or mug or tote and more with the site logo on it. The NC ACDIS Chapter does not receive any profit from the sale of these, unfortunately, but we know that members want to show their NC ACDIS pride so we’re glad to have found this site.

The NC ACDIS Chapter officers are currently working to generate ideas to stimulate chapter interest and activities. Brenda Harris suggested we organize our state by regions and ask for volunteers to represent each region to facilitate participation, etc. in the state chapter. The regions and counties included will be posted on the website soon, so please provide feedback on this idea. We are a large state with a lot of CDI programs. It would be great if we could generate more energy to support one another in our specialty.

If you are planning to attend the national conference in April, let us know. Perhaps members can plan to wear our NCACDIS t-shirts or hats to help identify ourselves. We will most likely be one of the few chapters with our own logo items!

As you are aware, we currently have no formal membership process, and no state membership dues. Membership in the local chapter provides participants a discount on ACDIS National membership. We hope to grow the ranks of our North Carolina networking group. We are interested in having anyone who works in NC as a clinical documentation consultant or specialist (whatever your role is called at your facility) participate in our chapter. Coders are also welcome. If you are aware of any hospitals in your area that have recently implemented a CDI program and may not know about us, please let me know or feel free to offer an invitation for them to contact us for information.

Best Regards,

Melissa Legere, RN, BSN, CCDS

Supervisor, Clinical Documentation

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

NCACDIS Secretary

melegere@wfubmc.edu

336/713-4113

March 08, 2011 | ltaylor | Comments 3

Halloween offered inspiration for CDI fun and education

If you haven’t finished your candy yet don’t worry. You’re not the only one with holiday leftovers. I have a few tid-bits

Bravo to Margaret Layton who made a mask from physician queries for the Florida quarterly Halloween meeting.

sent in from ACDIS members that I’ve stored up like those Kit Kat Bars you’ve probably nabbed from your children’s stash and stored in your bottom desk drawer to enjoy later. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a bit of a sweet-tooth right about now.

The first item I’d meant to mention in Friday’s post regarding Florida’s new chapter leaders. I’ve always applauded the creative energy of those hosting the Orange State’s meeting. They certainly didn’t disappoint for their Saturday, October 22 meeting which featured a masquerade theme. While it wasn’t a Caribbean Carnival or Jamaican jonkanoo festival participants certainly put their hearts into it as evidenced by Masque Contest winner Margaret Layton entry. Layton, a CDI at the University Community Hospital in Tampa made her masque from old physician query forms! Check out additional photos from the Florida group meeting at the ACDIS Facebook Fan Page.

The other item I wanted to mention is a great idea sent over by Jennifer Love, RN, BA, CCDS, CDI manger at Novant Health’s Brunswick Community Hospital, Thomasville Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital, Franklin Regional Medical Center, and Forsyth Medical Center.

In October, Novant launched an awareness campaign for its CDI program. It created physician documentation tip cards,

Novant Health created more than 500 CDI goodie bags with pens and documentation improvement tip cards included.

and enlarged the card to poster size and hung them in strategic places throughout the various campuses.

Novant printed more than 500 copies of the documentation cards—dubbed “Golden Rules” of documentation—which the CDI team coupled with a pen and other goodies and distributed to physicians. The pens read—Novant Health Clinical Documentation Improvement Excellent Documentation=Excellent Care.

According to Love, the staff took time to thank its interdisciplinary team members and physician partners for their dedication to CDI and to also educate them about recent coding changes, as appropriate. “We realize that without great support , the CDI program would not be a success,” she says.

So what should we do for Thanksgiving? Any ideas?

November 12, 2010 | Melissa Varnavas | Comments 0