ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship

The Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) is proud to launch a new certificate program for those seeking to enter the clinical documentation profession.

The ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship is a certificate program comprised of foundational CDI education paired with a review of core compliance and ethical principles. Candidates who pass the final exam receive a certificate of CDI foundational training and are allowed to designate themselves as an ACDIS-Approved CDI Apprentice. 

Why become an ACDIS CDI Apprentice? 
The ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship demonstrates that an individual has foundational CDI knowledge and has familiarity with the ACDIS Code of Ethics and other guiding principles for compliant query practice. Individuals who pass the final examination are allowed to use the designation ACDIS-Approved CDI Apprentice in their resumes, biographical information, or email signatures.

Designation as an ACDIS CDI Apprentice demonstrates to potential employers that an individual has foundational knowledge of CDI.

Pathway to the CCDS credential 
The ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship has also been designed as a pathway to future Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) designation. Candidates interested in obtaining the CCDS credential must fulfil prerequisites, including at least two years of experience in clinical documentation improvement. The ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship can be used as a pathway for progression toward the goal of CCDS certification and those who participate in the ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship will receive regular networking opportunities, special offers on further education, and support to continue on the journey.

What does the ACDIS CDI Apprentice comprise? 
The training includes five modules devoted to key concepts and responsibilities of CDI specialists, four modules devoted to clinical conditions that every CDI specialist must master, and one module devoted to core ACDIS guidelines, including the ACDIS Code of Ethics and the AHIMA/ACDIS Guide to Compliant Query Practice.

Benefits 
ACDIS has identified the top topics and clinical conditions new CDI specialists need to learn in order to hit the ground running, as well as the principles they must master to ensure compliant practice. The ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship can be used to: 

• Introduce new CDI specialists to their roles and responsibilities and ensure foundational competence 
• Provide accurate training on important topics and clinical conditions, such as querying and sepsis 
• Save time and resources developing internal training for new employees who are inexperienced with CDI 

About Your Training

The online library consists of ten courses total. Five of these courses introduce key concepts and responsibilities of the CDI specialist:

• Introduction to CDI: Core Concepts and Professional Skills: Defines the roles and responsibilities of the CDI profession and explains its value to the healthcare system 
• Understanding the DRG and IPPS Systems: Describes how to assign MS- and APR-DRGs, how hospitals are paid under the IPPS, and the nuances of the Medicare reimbursement system. 
• Coding Essentials for the CDI Specialist: Provides an overview of principal diagnosis, reportable secondary diagnoses, and ICD-10. Also includes a brief concept overview of present on admission and hospital-acquired conditions. 
• Conducting the Health Record Review: Describes how CDI professionals should interrogate the medical record, identifying which sections are most important, which documentation can be used for coding vs. querying, and where to find clinically relevant data. 
• Introduction to Queries and the Query Process: Provides guidance on how to formulate an effective, compliant query, and reviews major industry developments in query standards and compliance guidance. 

ACDIS has also identified four clinical conditions that every CDI specialist must master. The clinical courses in the review the pathophysiology, critical coding guidelines, and documentation requirements for these conditions, as well as providing sample queries. The courses are: 

• Documentation Requirements for Sepsis: Explains the difference between SIRS and sepsis, identifies clinical indicators for sepsis, and discusses the AHA sepsis coding guidelines. 
• Documentation Requirements for CHF: Differentiates between heart failure type and acuity, and explains the AHA coding guidelines for heart failure. 
• Documentation Requirements for Acute Respiratory Failure: Identifies the clinical indicators and explains AHA coding guidelines for respiratory failure. 
• Documentation Requirements for Malnutrition: Differentiates between the types of malnutrition, identifies the diagnostic characteristics for adult malnutrition, and explains the AHA malnutrition coding guidelines. 

Finally, ACDIS has created a module featuring core ACDIS principles and guidelines that provide guidance for practicing in a compliant manner. The module features: 

• AHIMA/ACDIS Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice 
• ACDIS Code of Ethics 
• ACDIS Position Paper: Defining the CDI Specialist’s Roles and Responsibilities 
• ACDIS White Paper: Cornerstone of CDI Success: Build a Strong Foundation 

Each course in the library is highly interactive, with voice-over narration, and includes “Test Your Knowledge” questions throughout to reinforce major concepts. Upon the completion of all modules, participants will be required to complete a 40-question final exam in order to receive completion certificates and CEUs.

Continuing Education

ACDIS
This program has been approved for 4.5 continuing education units towards fulfilling the requirements of the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) certification, offered as a service of the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS).

AHIMA
This program has been approved for 4.5 continuing education units for use in fulfilling the continuing education requirements of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

ANCC
HCPro is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

This educational activity for 4.5 nursing contact hours is provided by HCPro. 

Terms

You will have access to your ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship for 180 days from the purchase/order date.

2024 ACDIS Pocket Guide

Order your 2024 version today and be sure to receive the #1 CDI resource!

CDI professionals need a day-to-day reference when conducting their medical record reviews—one that can provide trusted clinical indicators for compliant and effective physician queries and at-a-glance, easy-to-use comorbidity lists.

The ACDIS Pocket Guide is the essential resource for regulatory and coding guidance, IPPS reimbursement updates, compliant query best practices and standards, clinical validation, and diagnostic definitions. Co-written by Laurie Prescott, ACDIS’s interim director and CDI education director, and Dr. James Manz, a practicing physician steeped in the latest physician documentation terminology, the ACDIS Pocket Guide is a winning combination of practical, tailored CDI tips and resources and clinical, regulatory, and coding guidance adapted from the official sources.

The 2024 ACDIS Pocket Guide offers the latest information CDI professionals need to know including:

• Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 guidelines
• AHA 2023 Coding Clinic guidance
• New provider tips from James Manz, MD, CCDS-O of Mayo Clinic
• Updated critical thinking tips, treatment protocols, and diagnostic criteria
• The latest updates related to social determinants of health
• The addition of a new condition - leukemia
• The inclusion of 75+ conditions

Owners of the 2024 ACDIS Pocket Guide will have access to significant updates to the following conditions:

• Cerebral edema/brain compression
• Chronic kidney disease
• Mechanical ventilation
• Myocardial ischemia/infarction and angina
• Atrial septal defect (neonatal/pediatric)
• Anemia
• Neoplasms
• And more!

Plus, the Comorbid Conditions Offering Impact table has been updated include more specific codes and to highlight those conditions that directly impact certain Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) quality programs: Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HAC), Patient Safety Indicators (PSI), 30-Day Mortality, and Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program/30-Day Readmissions (HRRP).

Published: November 2023

Page Count: 624 + 6 Tabs
Format: Print, Spiral with tabs
ISBN: 978-1-64535-274-7

Click here to learn more.