All Entries Tagged With: "networking"

Local Chapter Events: More meetings scheduled for April’s end

The new Five Boroughs NYC ACDIS network meets next week.

Missouri: The Kansas City, Mo., ACDIS Chapter meets today, Thursday, April 11, 2:30 p.m., at Heartland Health in St. Joseph. For information, contact Joann Agin at jagin@carondelet.com.

Northern Ohio: Meets Tuesday, April 16, at Cleveland Clinic. For information, contact Debroah Lee-Tyiska at tyiskad@ccf.org.

New York: The NYC Five Borough ACDIS Chapter meets Tuesday, April 16, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, 1650 Grand Concourse, in the Bronx. For information, email Wanda Mejias-Gonzalez at wmejias@wyckoffhospital.org.

Idaho: The Northwest Mountains Chapter which welcomes participants from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, meets Wednesday, April 17, for a presentation and discussion regarding CDI efforts associated with patient safety indicators. For information, contact Robin L. Hetzler at rhetzler@kmc.org.

Phoenix, Arizona: Meets Wednesday, April 17, at 6 p.m., at Mimi’s Cafe at Desert Ridge, on N. Tatum Blvd. For information, contact Gloria Richardson at 602-316-6415 or grichardson@shc.org.

Illinois: Meets Thursday, April 18, from 12:30-3:30 p.m., at St. Alexius Medical Center. The agenda includes presentations on “Physician Advisor Role in CDI, Coding, and Recovery Auditor Efforts” and “Infectious Disease: What’s Bugging You?” For information, email Ellen Chang at Ellen.chang@alexian.net.

Washington: The Evergreen Washington State ACDIS Chapter meets Thursday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Skagit Valley Hospital, in Mt. Vernon. The agenda includes:

• New malnutrition guidelines review
• Starting a CDI Program from scratch: How we did it and how it is working
• Audio conference: “2013 CC/MCC List”

For information email meeting host, Erika Duncan at eduncan@skagitvalleyhospital.org, or call 360-814-5506.

ACDIS NW (Oregon): Meets Friday, April 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin. Agenda includes:

• CDI: ICD-10 and beyond
• Webinar regarding latest ACDIS/AHIMA query guidances
• Malnutrition and the ASPEN criteria
• CDI and ICD-10

For information, email Eileen Pracz at pracze@ohsu.edu.

New York: The next Albany ACDIS Chapter meeting takes place Friday, April 19, from 2-4 p.m., at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady. For information, contact Nancy Trumpler at trumplern@ellismedicine.org.

New Jersey: Meets Friday, April 19, 12-4:30 p.m., at Reimbursement Review Associates, Inc., 385 West Ferris St. Suite D, in East Brunswick. The program “A Computer Assisted Coding Workshop Immersion for ICD-10 and CDI” begins at 1 p.m. For information, contact Deborah Gardner-Brown, at 732-238-4511 or email dgardnerbr@aol.com.

Maryland: The next meeting of theMaryland Hospital Association Clinical Documentation Improvement Workgroup will be held Friday, April 19, 1:30–3 p.m., at Maryland Hospital Association Headquarters in Elkridge. For information, email Christine Mobley, RN, director of clinical documentation at Prince George’s Hospital Center at christine.Mobley@dimensionshealth.org or call 301-618-6507.

Massachusetts: Meets Thursday, April 25, 12:30-2 p.m., at Emerson Hospital Wellness Center, in Concord. For information visit the website http://masscdis.weebly.com/calendar.html or contact Sarah Eby at mass.cdis@gmail.com.

Virginia: The Virginia ACDIS meeting originally slated for January was postponed due to inclement weather and will be held on Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. Guest speakers include Robert Gold, MD, CEO of DCBA, Inc, who will present a program on ICD-10 (2.0 CEUs) and Crystal Brown, CCS, RHIT, who will present a program titled ‘RACs – Rolling with the Punches,’ (1.0 CEU). In keeping with our tradition of community service and ‘ACDIS Gives Back,’ participants are invited to bring donations of non-perishable foods, which will support our South Hampton Roads Food Bank. For information, contact Vivian Gannon at 757-312-6486 or email vivian.gannon@chesapeakeregional.com.

Texas: The next Houston ACDIS Chapter meeting takes place Thursday, May 9. For information, contact Pat Spooner at budderpat@yahoo.com.

Philadelphia/NJ: The next Philadelphia/New Jersey ACDIS Chapter meeting takes place Thursday, May 16, from 8:30-10 a.m., at Albert Einstein Medical Center, in Philadelphia. For information, contact Deborah Dallen, at DallenD@einstein.edu.

South Carolina: Meets Friday, May 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Providence Hospital, in Columbia, SC. For information, contact Rebecca A. Williams at Ali.williamsrn@gmail.com.

Georgia: The next SECACDIS Chapter meeting will be held on Friday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Gwinnett Medical Center Resource Center in Lawrenceville, Ga. RSVP by Friday, May 24 to James Doster at james.doster@emoryhealthcare.org.

April networking meetings announced

If you don’t see your state among those gathering with fellow CDI professionals for networking and education let us know. E-mail mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com.

The following ACDIS local chapters have meetings coming up in April. If you are interested in participating or joining, contact the chapter leaders listed below.

• Open officer position/discussion
• Heart failure
• Encephalopathy and brain-related severity of illness

• CDI Week-Terri Leap
• Shadowing update-Leap/Kari Ellis/Terri Burke
• Post-discharge Query Process-Leap
• CCDS Study Group Update-Angie Green
• National ACDIS Conference- Green
• National ACDIS Website Video-Leap/Green/Susan Bradford
• Combined IN-KY Meeting Update- Bradford
• Code of Ethics- Leap/Green/ Bradford
• Presentation-Michelle Barrett/ Leap

• CDI: ICD-10 and beyond
• Webinar regarding latest ACDIS/AHIMA query guidances
• Malnutrition and the ASPEN criteria
• CDI and ICD-10

SC ACDIS Chapter shares insight about retrospective reviews

South Carolina

“Having all the knowledge in the world is useless without the desire for charity (sharing).”

~1 Corinthians 13:2

The following question and answers were exchanged amongst the South Carolina ACDIS Chapter and shared here with their permission. The question itself asks about how facilities handle queries post-discharge. Do CDI specialists follow their queries through the entire process, closing queries even after the patient left the building? Or do CDI specialists hand over query duties once the patient medical record hits the coders’ hands letting the coding/HIM team follow-up on any outstanding queries and conduct any additional, retrospective queries as needed?

According to the 2010 Physician Query Benchmarking Report, CDI programs focus on concurrent review (98%), but an increasing number (58%) indicated they also conduct retrospective, pre-bill queries. In response to the South Carolina members’ exchange, ACDIS posted the question to its weekly poll.

It certainly warrants further discussion. As you read through the responses below even, you’ll notice the wide variety in how different program have decide to handle the matter. Regardless of how your program proceeds, be sure your process is clearly outlined in formal policies and procedures and that you annually review and update those policies according to the latest best practices.

What also struck me about the exchange was the pure generosity of the quick responses. Of course, the petitioner asked for help as soon as possible but within the hour she had heard back from more than a dozen chapter members offering their experiences up as evidence to assist her.

This type generosity of spirit is evident in every single ACDIS chapter throughout the country. This type of generosity of spirit is evident in the tremendous sharing that takes place every day on the CDI Talk network. The type of generosity of spirit is evident, and has been evident, at every single ACDIS National Conference. This type of generosity is evident since the beginning of the association.

Well, now that I’ve fully gushed with pride. How about some examples of what was shared?

Q: I need to know how each hospital handles the query post discharge. Do the CDI specialists get the answers to the post-discharge queries by coders or do the coders handle their own queries? Do the CDI specialists continue their concurrent queries post discharge or do the coders continue the concurrent queries?

A: At Georgetown Hospital System we do all queries both concurrent and retrospective and follow them all the way through to completion. It is labor intensive and time consuming but we feel that it is beneficial for continuity of process.

At Medical University of South Carolina we have a CDI specialist who works “the back end.” One of her duties is to follow-up on open queries.

Our coders only query physicians if the pathology reports (post discharge) are involved. Once the patient has been discharged, CDI staff no longer follows for unanswered queries. We log it as a no response in our program. However, if the coder feels that a query is warranted and within their scope of practice, they will repost the query. Coders post any new queries and follow up for any new opportunities they identify, as well.

Our CDI specialists follow the clarifications through to discharge and beyond if needed. We normally contact the physician one last time. We are tracking physician responses, which makes it very important for CDI staff members to follow up on open or unanswered queryies. We have gotten away from coder queries.

At Grand Strand we have just gone to electronic queries. The CDI specialist posts queries electronically and they appear in the same location as the coding queries. If the CDI specialist query is warranted post discharge, it is marked as a deficiency and the coder no longer needs to re-issue the query. If the query was not warranted, the coder retires it. If an additional query is needed, the coder initiates it. It is the responsibility of the CDI specialist to check in the electronic chart to see if the query has been answered.

Our coders follow up on any CDI unanswered queries and submit retrospective queries to the physicians if needed. Our coders also write and follow up on any retrospective queries.

Currently, the coding staff determines whether to continue a query post discharge and they submit that as a retrospective query and follow up on it.

Here at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, I am the only CDI specialist and there is one in-house coder. We both work together as a team to get the post-discharge queries answered. Often I have to do a review after the patient is discharged since that is when most physicians will answer my queries.

Getting to the heart of the matter: Local networking meetings announced

South Carolina: Meets Friday, February 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Palmetto Health in Columbia, S.C. For information, contact Rebecca “Ali” Williams at 864-560-5701 or email at rawilliams@srhs.com.

Austin, Texas: Meets February 9, 1-4 p.m., at St. David’s Medical Center. For information, email Barbara Presley at baPresley@seton.org.

Houston, Texas: Meets Thursday, February 14, 3 p.m., at Harris County Hospital District, Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital. For information, email Pat Spooner at budderpat@yahoo.com.

Maryland: The next Maryland Hospital Association Clinical Documentation Improvement Workgroup meets Friday, February 15, 1:30–3 p.m., at the Maryland Hospital Association Headquarters in Elkridge. For information, email Christine Mobley, christine.Mobley@dimensionshealth.org, or call 301-618-6507.

North Carolina: Meets Friday, February 15, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte. Agenda includes:

• Severity of Illness/Risk of Mortality influence on CDI by Beth E. Bumgarner
• Panel discussion with leader Abby Steelhammer
• NCACDIS Business Meeting
• Recovery Auditors from a CDI perspective by Sharon Easterling

For information, contact Leah Taylor, at 704-878-7436, or email Leah.Taylor@iredellmemorial.org or visit the NC ACDIS Blog at http://ncacdis.org/home.

Kentucky/Indiana: Meets Thursday, February 21, 1-4 p.m. at Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Ind. For information, contact Rita Fields at 502-896-7874 or email  rita.fields@bhsi.com.

Florida: Meets Saturday, February 23, at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater. For information, contact Clare Garrard at clare.garrard@baycare.org; John Noble at john.noble@baycare.org; or Jamie Dugan at Jamie.Dugan@bmcjax.com.

Missouri: The Heartland ACDIS Chapter meets Wednesday, February 27, 8-9 a.m. via webinar. Presentations topics include improving core measure reporting with concurrent record reviews and chapter officer election overview. For information email Sara Baine at sbaine@sehealth.org.

California: Meets via webinar Wednesday, February 27, 9 a.m., for a presentation on quality measures by Lyda Gardiner, RN, BSN, M. Ed., the Practice Director of Quality and Performance Innovation for Jacobus Consulting. For information, contact Michelle Limo by email at MLIMO@svmh.com.

Alabama:  Meets on Friday, March 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika. For information, contact Kim S. Murphy at 205-759-7371 or email kmurphy@dchsystem.com.

West Virginia: Meets on Wednesday, March 20, 2 p.m. at Charleston Area Medical Center to discuss Recovery Auditor trends and risk reduction, as well as value-based purchasing initiatives. For information contact Shelia Harrison by email at Sheila.Harrison@camc.org.

Save the date:

Central Indiana: Meets Wednesday, April 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information, email Teresa Leap at Teresa.Leap@wishard.edu.

Oregon: Meets Friday, April 19, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin, featuring a discussion regarding ICD-10 documentation challenges, case studies, and query template examples. For information, contact Eileen Pracz at 508-418-4023 or email pracze@ohsu.edu.

Virginia: The Virginia ACDIS meeting originally slated for January was postponed due to inclement weather and will be held on Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring a presentation by Robert Gold, MD. For information, email meeting host Vivian E. Gannon, at vivian.gannon@chesapeakeregional.com.

Reminder: Quarterly Conference Call tomorrow

Quarterly conference call tomorrow.

The next ACDIS Quarterly Conference Call is scheduled for Thursday, November 15, from 1-2 p.m., ET. ACDIS members have received e-mail regarding how to access the call. If you have not received instructions, please contact Member Relations Specialist Penny Richards at prichards@cdiassociation.com.

November CDI networking meetings get underway

The Austin (Texas) ACDIS Chapter met for the first time in September.

November

Houston, Texas: The Houston, Texas ACDIS Chapter holds its next meeting Thursday, November 8, at 3 p.m., at Clearlake HCA. For information, email budderpat@yahoo.com.

Connecticut: The next CT ACDIS Chapter meeting will be held Thursday, November 8, 1:30-3:30 p.m., at The Hospital of Central Connecticut, Bradley Memorial Campus, in Southington. For information, contact MaryAnn Shanley, RN, at 860-714-1261 or e-mail mshanley@stfranciscare.org.

Kentucky: The Kentucky/Southern Indiana Chapter meeting takes place Thursday, November 8, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington. For information, contact Rita Fields by email  rita.fields@bhsi.com or call 502-896-7874.

South Carolina: The SC ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, November 9, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Providence Hospital in Columbia. The agenda includes presentations by:

• Jonathan Elion, MD, president and CEO of ChartWise, regarding “Ethics in CDI.”
• Nita Seel, RN, CCDS, CDIP, Documentation Integrity Supervisor at Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center will present on “Maintaining Momentum in a Mature CDI Program.”
• Debby Greenlaw, ACNPC from Providence Hospitals Palliative Care present on “Palliative care and CDI.”

Lunch sponsored by ChartWise. CEU credits provided. Cost is $10; $20 for non-members. To register, contact Rebecca “Ali” Williams via email at rawilliams@srhs.com.

Leaders of the Philadelphia/New Jersey ACDIS Chapter Judi Bates, Mary Ellen Moakes, and Debby Dallen take a break from their duties for a quick photograph during their September meeting.

Georgia: The next Southeastern (SE) ACDIS Chapter meeting will be Friday, November 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Joseph’s/Candler at Candler Hospital in Savannah. Register by email to Jamie Doster at james.doster@emoryhealthcare.org.

Tennessee: The next Tennessee ACDIS Chapter will be Friday, November 16, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Heart Hospital Conference Room, University of Tennessee Medical Center, in Knoxville. The agenda includes:

• Tram flap and fibular graft procedure review
• The intersection of ICD-10 and CDI
• Common pulmonary documentation problems in CDI
• CCDS exam preparation and review
• Chapter business and ACDIS National Conference event planning

For information, contact Sherri Clark at sclark@utmck.edu or call 865-804-6561.

California: Holds its monthly conference call on Wednesday, November 21, 9 a.m., due to the Thanksgiving holiday. For information, contact Emily Emmons, at Emmons.Emily@scrippshealth.org.

Minnesota: The monthly conference networking meeting will be held Wednesday, November 28, at 1 p.m. For information, contact Mark LeBlanc via email at Mark.LeBlanc@hcmed.org.

Missouri: The next Heartland ACDIS Chapter meets Wednesday, November 28, 9-10 a.m., to discuss myocardial infarction documentation. For information, contact Sara Baine via email at sbaine@SEhealth.org or call 618-967-4227.

December

Illinois: Save-the-date: The next N. Illinois ACDIS meeting will be held Tuesday, December 4. For information, contact Nancy R. Ignatowicz at NRMIgnatowicz@comcast.net or Colleen Stukenberg at CStukenberg@fhn.org.

West Virginia: The next meeting for WV ACDIS Chapter will be held Wednesday, December 5, 1-3 p.m., at St. Francis Hospital, Charleston. For information, contact Sheila.Harrison@camc.org or call 304-389-0689.

Maryland: The next Maryland CDI meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, December 21 1:30–3 p.m. at the Maryland Hospital Association Headquarters in Elkridge. Volunteers are needed to help lead the group, as December will be outgoing chair Christine Mobley’s last meeting. For information, contact Mobley at 301-618-6507 or email christine.Mobley@dimensionshealth.org,

Save-the-date

C. Indiana: The next chapter meeting will be held via teleconference on January 9, 2013.  For information contact, Teresa Leap at Teresa.Leap@wishard.edu; Lisa Farhar at lfarhar@iuhealth.org; or Angie Green at AGreen3@ecommunity.com.

Texas: The next Austin CDI Chapter meeting will take place February 9, 1-4 p.m., at St. David’s Medical Center. For information, contact Barbara Presley at baPresley@seton.org.

Leadership changes

The Florida ACDIS Chapter meets quarterly. For information, contact newly elected president Clare Garrard at clare.garrard@baycare.org; Vice President John Noble at john.noble@baycare.org; or Secretary/Treasurer Jamie Dugan at Jamie.Dugan@bmcjax.com.

The ACDIS NW Oregon Chapter meets bi-annually. Its next meeting will be held in spring 2013. For information, contact Eileen Pracz, RN, CCDS, CDI specialist at Oregon Health & Science University, at 508-418-4023 or email pracze@ohsu.edu.

The Michigan ACDIS Chapter meets quarterly via telephone conference line for education and networking sessions. For information, contact Sue Haley via email at shaley@northernhealth.org or Patricia Nemeth at PNEMETH1@hfhs.org.

Robin Hetzler, RN, CDI specialist at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene is gathering CDI professionals in facilities from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and even along the borders of Washington and Oregon. For information, email rhetzler@kmc.org or call 208-819-0706.

The Virginia ACDIS Chapter meets quarterly at a different facility each session. For information, contact Lisa Romanello, RN, BSN, FNS, CCDS, CDI specialist at CJW Medical Center in Chippenham at Angelisa.Romanello@hcahealthcare.com or call 804-228-6527.

Sarah T. Eby, RN, BSN, CDI specialist at Southcoast Hospitals Group in Wareham leads the newly re-established Massachusetts ACDIS networking group. Contact her via email at EbyS@southcoast.org.

The Central Indiana ACDIS Chapter holds quarterly meetings. New leadership includes:

• President: Teresa Leap, RN, BSN, MBA, CDI specialist at Wishard Hospital via email at Teresa.Leap@wishard.edu.
• Vice President Lisa Farhar, RN, MSN, CCDS, CDI liaison at IU Health via email at lfarhar@iuhealth.org.
• Secretary Angie Green, ASN, BA, Psychology, CDI specialist at Community Hospital North via email at AGreen3@ecommunity.com.

For additional information, visit the chapter website at http://cinacdis.org.

Sandy affects CDI professionals, ACDIS members

As news reports continue to illustrate the extensive damage caused by hurricane Sandy our thoughts and prayers go out to those who live and work in the affected communities.

The Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) currently has chapters in some of the hardest hit areas and members throughout the affected regions. We join the entire nation in expressing its sincere concern for the victims of the hurricane and understand that assistance is desperately needed now and will continue to be needed in the weeks of clean-up to come.

Over the coming days, ACDIS will continue to reach out to its local chapter leadership in support and solidarity. If you currently work or live in one of these areas please feel free to share how this storm has affected you by leaving a comment below. Additionally, those who wish to leave their comments of support may also do so.

Local groups host events in October

The N. Illinois ACDIS Chapter met in September during CDI Week and managed to gather everyone attending for this photograph.

Summer meetings offer cool information for local CDI professionals

ACDIS currently has more than 40 local chapters in most states. The following groups are holding meetings this summer. Please also visit the local chapter page on the ACDIS website, and the local chapter-networking group category on the ACDIS Blog.

Oregon: The NW (Oregon) ACDIS Chapter holds its fall conference, 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, October 19, at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin, Ore. Agenda includes:

• Robert Gold, MD CEO, DCBA, Inc., will discuss “RAC Proofing Documentation and how to help physicians get it.”
• James Suiter, NP, CCDS, will discuss “Dementia, Encephalopathy, and Delirium.”
• Richard D. Pinson, MD, FACP, CCS, Co-Founder and Principal of HCQ Consulting, will discuss “VBP Impact on CDI/Using Outcomes Data Effectively.”
• National benchmarking results discussion from summer survey
• Business Meeting: Officers Report, state of the organization, election of officers for 2012, raffle drawing

To register, fill out the form and fax to Juanita Carriveau  at 541-222-2427. For additional information, email JCarriveau@peacehealth.org.

Local networking 101: How to navigate the ACDIS Local Chapter page

There's 40 local ACDIS chapters can we make it to 50?

CDI networking efforts have grown since ACDIS’ inception to nearly 40 local chapters across the country. They range in formality but share the mission to bring quality CDI practices to their facilities and to share lessons learned amongst fellow professionals. ACDIS is thankful for all their efforts.

If you are a member of a local chapter you can qualify for a discount on ACDIS National membership. Please contact your local chapter leader or ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas to learn more.