The Outpatient CDI Specialist’s Complete Training Guide

Tracy Boldt, RN, BSN, CCDS, CDIP, and Ellen Jantzer, RN, MSN, CCDS, CCS, CRC

Fast-track your outpatient CDI efforts by effectively onboarding new staff

Starting an outpatient CDI program from scratch can prove daunting: Its mission, focus, structure, and support all need to be defined, and on top of that, the program must be staffed. Your new hires will need orientation, training, and help understanding the core skills of a CDI professional—in addition to specialized training on outpatient coding, billing, and record reviews. What you don’t need to worry about, though, is creating training materials from scratch.

Working from the acclaimed Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist’s Complete Training Guide, long-time ACDIS members and experienced outpatient CDI program directors have adapted that celebrated text to delve into the complexities of CDI in the physician practice setting. The Outpatient CDI Specialist’s Complete Training Guide serves as a bridge between your new CDI specialists’ first day on the job and their first effective steps reviewing physician practice records. This book is the perfect resource for CDI program managers to help new CDI professionals understand their roles and responsibilities.

This training guide provides:

• An introduction for managers, with suggestions for training staff and guidance for manual use
• Sample training timelines
• Test-your-knowledge questions to reinforce key concepts
• Case study examples to illustrate essential CDI elements
• Documentation challenges associated with common diagnoses found in the physician practice setting
• Sample policies and procedures

Published: August 2018

Page count: 160
Dimensions: 8x5, spiral bound
ISBN: 978-1-68308-803-5

Table of Contents

CDI Specialist Roles and Responsibilities
Outpatient Coding

• ICD Origins and Transitions
• Additional Coding Guidance
• Current Procedure Terminology
• E/M 101
• Risk-Adjustment Methods
• Hierarchical Condition Categories

Reimbursement Systems

• Government and Private Payers
• Compliant Query Practices
• Regulatory Oversight
• The Art of Record Review
• Documentation Improvement Opportunities
• Physician Education

Evaluating Success

• Peer Reviews
• Productivity and Other Metrics
• Identify Program Targets

Online Materials

• Sample Orientation Schedule
• Sample Mentor and Preceptor Roles
• Sample CDI Outpatient Job Description
• Sample Orientation Checklist
• Record Review Checklists
• Physician Education Discussion Scenarios
• Sample Auditing Checklist
• Test Your Knowledge Questions and Answers

Add Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS)

$20 discount on your one-year ACDIS Membership will be applied at check out.

ACDIS is a community of CDI professionals who share the latest tips, tools, and strategies to implement successful CDI programs and achieve professional growth.

ACDIS members receive: 

• Advocacy and leadership from a peer-elected ACDIS Advisory Board, including peer-reviewed Position Papers and White Papers.
• Weekly tips, news, and strategies in our e-newsletter, CDI Strategies
• In-depth news and regulatory information, clinically-based articles, case studies on building successful CDI programs, and membership profiles in our bi-monthly electronic journal, the CDI Journal
• An opportunity to network with peers and colleagues in the ACDIS Forum
• Access to live and archived quarterly conference calls, hour-long networking discussions and an open Q&A with the ACDIS Advisory Board
• Helpful tools accessed in our electronic Resource Library, including sample queries, policies, and archived conference presentations
• Two free job postings a year, discounted additional posts, and the ability to post your resume on our Career Center
• Opportunities to participate in an Official ACDIS Local Chapter in your area, under the leadership of the Chapter Advisory Board
• Discounts to the annual ACDIS conference, CCDS certification, and CDI Boot Camps

To explore all that ACDIS has to offer, please visit the ACDIS Web site.