March 25, 2022

Complacency Can Starve Your Career GrowthResuscitation of CDI

I recently talked with a colleague on the phone who has been out of work for over a year now, this despite the fact the economy is performing well on all major indices. Now, granted my colleague has her age going against her as a strong headwind, she has been actively searching for a book-keeping related position day in and day out with little results. My colleague has been a bookkeeper for over twenty-five years with a very stable work history, having been at her last
March 26, 2022

Medical Necessity Germane to CDI

Medical Necessity is assuming even more importance as the crux of medicine with the increased focus upon the healthcare delivery model transitioning from Fee-for-Service to Fee-for-Value. An inherent challenge in decisions of medical necessity is the inherent subjectiveness of determining whether the care provided meets medical necessity. Determinations of medical necessity are fluid, with different requirements for different third-party payers. The concept of medical necessity spans the entire spectrum of healthcare whether Medicare has Local Coverage
March 25, 2022

Hospital Readmissions – Driving Reduction Through Enhanced Patient Care Communication

Palmetto GBA just this week posted on its website an article titled Hospital Readmission Without Septicema discussing the CMS Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. pointing out the cost of unplanned readmissions is $15 to $20 billion annually. Interesting enough the following statements in the article run contrary to findings of a study published in January’s Health Affairs
March 26, 2022

Does Reimbursement Focused Behavior Drive Process Improvement?

A major challenge of current clinical documentation improvement processes is the undivided focus upon reimbursement as the primary outcome, something undisputable with a clear review of present day Key Performance Indicators. The expression and reporting of the clinical truth in the record beginning with the Emergency Room Documentation, transitioning into the H & P and continuing with the consultant reports and progress notes culminating in the discharge summary
March 25, 2022

Is Your CDI Program Really Performing at the Top of Its Game

As outlined in the 2019 Medicare Fee-For-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data Report, the overall Medicare Improper Payment Rate was pegged at 7.3% translating into $28.91 billion paid to providers improperly. This is a marked improvement from 2018 when the improper payment rate was 8.1% which represented $31.62 billion. The bulk of those improper payments paid by Medicare in 2019, similar to 2018, were attributable to two related
March 25, 2022

Focusing On CDI Measures That Truly Matter

The use of case-mix as a proxy for judging the effectiveness of clinical documentation improvement programs can be characterized as an unreliable imprecise measure of overall success. While case-mix over time can potentially increase over time as clinical specificity in diagnoses capture improves, there are a myriad of contributing factors that control the ultimate calculation of case-mix. Attributing improvement in documentation to increases and fluctuations
July 23, 2022

Rebranding CDI Hasn’t Helped, Redirection Has

Most Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) programs are mislabeled and misidentified in the present format. Integrity is defined as the quality or state of being complete or undivided per Merriam-Webster. A few years back the association representing the Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s community elected to replace the “Improvement” part of the name to “Integrity”, now referred to as Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists.
March 26, 2022

Why A Holistic View of Documentation Improvement is Essential

CMS under its Medical Review Policy holds its contractors such as the Medicare Administrative Contractors responsible for insuring the payment of provider claims accurately with the primary mission of reducing provider billing errors. The primary goal is to pay the claims correctly the first time around. MACs review clinical documentation to prevent improper payments and choose claims for review based on many factors such as the service specific improper payment rate,
March 25, 2022

CDI- Moving Into The 21st Century

Clinical documentation integrity programs have evolved over time with its expansion of duties and responsibilities beyond CC/MCC diagnosis capture. The profession has expanded its reach into quality measures such as Hospital Acquired Conditions, Patient Safety Indicators, Core Measures, and other documentation driven reportable measures of care. Fundamental to operational performance of any clinical documentation integrity program is enhancing the physician’s
March 26, 2022

Does Your CDI Program Expose to Compliance Risk?

CDI programs have strong potential to significantly raise compliance risks for the hospital or health system in which the program operates. Compliance departments strive to minimize and alleviate the numerous risks associated with the myriad of components associated with and fundamental to the delivery of healthcare. Clinical documentation improvement initiatives can work in tandem, align and collaborate with the compliance department’s goals and objectives,