All Entries Tagged With: "survey"

Physician query benchmarking report released

More than 350 people responded to the 20-question physician query benchmarking survey launched earlier this year. The survey asked respondents  a wide range of physician query questions:

• What should you query?
• When should you query?
• How should you query?
• Why should you query?
• What information do you need to track once physicians respond?
• What’s the best way to track CDI information?
• And oh, by the way, how often do you do all this?

Most CDI professionals want to know how other facilities fare in getting physicians to respond to queries. In response to question 18 on the survey, 19% said they have an 81%-90% response rate, followed by 17% with a 71%-80% response rate. Thirteen percent of respondents say they’ve achieved a 96%-100% response rate.

ACDIS members have full access to this report at www.cdiassociation.com, click on the “Helpful Resources” section and scroll down to the links beneath the White Paper title.

2008 salary survey shows modest means for most

Most CDI specialists make between $60-$70,000 a year, according to the ACDIS 2008 salary survey. Whether you feel your current salary’s suffient for your workload or not consider this: When I first started my career as a reporter at hometown newspaper the argument of the day revolved around the superintendent-of-schools annual salary increase. That year (if I remember correctly) they raised his salary to $120,000. At the time, the mayor the city made $60,000 annually.

Now, the average 2007 salary of WellPoint, Inc. board of directors member was $350,000, according to a report from Atlantic Information Systems, Inc. Not to make a target of WellPoint. . . but. . . we all know how insane the corporate salary intakes seems in this day and age, from our local officials to our sports heros to our healthcare administrators.

What’s the solution to these spiraling salaries? Who knows.  Some say transparency’s the key. I’d guess that might induce additional feelings of jealousy and greed—i.e., if that guy gets so much money why shouldn’t I?

We have a few salary outliers in our own industry—less than 5% of those surveyed last year reported earning more than $90,000—but for the most part CDI specialists are just working folks.

Need proof? Check out last year’s salary survey and keep an eye out for your invitation to particpate in the 2009 version.

Perhaps we have to wonder at our collective ideologies when a bank president thinks its fine to spend millions on office decor.

Physician queries: White paper, ACDIS survey, book

Only a few months ago AHIMA released guidance for physician queries so it is no wonder that concerns remain for most CDI professionals. They want to know how to query, what to query, and when to query. For those just starting CDI programs, these questions are paramount to forming an effective CDI process.

ACDIS has begun working on a book regarding physician queries which we hope to release later this year. Please let me know if there’s a particular issue you think we need to address by either sending an e-mail to mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com or posting a comment to this blog.

You can access a free white paper “Master physician queries: Clarify coding with compliant questions” written by our own Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC-I,

Shannon McCall

ACDIS board member and director of coding and health information management for HCPro, Inc.  Just click on the link, fill out the information, and check the physician query box.

Also, as a reminder, the physician query benchmarking survey remains open until February 13, 5 p.m. One lucky participant will be chosen at random to receive a free admission to this year’s ACDIS conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. If the winner already has a paid seat to the conference then he or she gets a free pass to the pre-conference event, ICD-9 Coding Essentials: What every CDI specialist needs to know. (Which Ms. McCall teaches, by the way! I’m signed up for this session myself and am really looking forward to it!)

ACDIS will publish the survey results and post them on the Association Web site.

Participate in Physician Query Benchmarking Survey

CDI professionals spent the bulk of 2008 worrying and wondering what guidance AHIMA would finally offer for conducting physician queries. The back and forth negotiation of final guidance development proved fruitful for many healthcare stakeholders from compliance to finance, health information to clinical documentation improvement.

But it’s time to take the guidance off the shelf and see how those in our profession actually use the physician query process every day. Please take a moment to participate in our ACDIS Physician Query Benchmarking Survey.

We will analyze the results and issue a report later this spring. While the best part of participation really comes from the sharing of information and the general condition of creating community. . . ACDIS Director Brian Murphy sweetened this incentive by adding a little contest to the mix.  One lucky participant will be chosen at random to receive a free admission to this year’s ACDIS conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. If the winner already has a paid seat to the conference then he or she gets a free pass to the pre-conference event, ICD-9 Coding Essentials: What every CDI specialist needs to know.

So, click here, take the survey, help your fellow CDI professionals, and enter for a chance to win! Note that we plan to conduct these benchmarking surveys on a quarterly basis, and offer them exclusively for ACDIS members.

Holiday celebrations for CDI specialists

Hi ACDIS members, we’d like to wish you all a happy holiday. And to get in the spirit, we’ve included a timeless YouTube clip of “A Marshmallow World” sung by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Check it out!

Hopefully you’ve also taken the opportunity to weigh in on our weekly poll question “What are your CDI coverage plans for Christmas Day?”

So far, 83% of respondents said everyone in the department will have the holiday off to sip eggnog and toast the season with family and friends. Perhaps more surprising was the 12% of CDI specialists who said their department not only has December 25th off but several other days as well. Lucky you!

Not everyone is enjoying the holiday cheer equally: 1% said they’re stuck working, 3% said a colleague’s covering the department, and a final 1% said they hadn’t had time to think it about it.

While I admit to being a last minute shopper (I only just settled on buying my husband a new warm wool hat. Don’t laugh, those things can be expensive!), the time to consider holiday coverage has come. So, to those who pluck up the professional fortitude to report to duty on the Great American Opening Day (the day of opening presents) a special cheer of well wishes to you! To the rest of our fortunate CDI colleagues and friends: Happy holidays whatever they might be.

Also, starting in early 2009 we plan to upgrade CDI Blog over to WordPress, a fancy new blogging software program. Expect more content and a better-looking format in the coming year!