ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Tuesday, August 22 – Thursday, August 24, 2023

Were you unable to attend the 2023 ACDIS conference in Chicago? Or were you there and wishing you had the chance to share some of the sessions with your team to help them flourish? Well, here’s your chance!

Join us Tuesday, August 22 to Thursday, August 24 for this special virtual event featuring sessions recorded live during the 2023 ACDIS National Conference—the entire Clinical & Coding track.

This much-loved staple of the annual national conference features core clinical and coding components vital to all those engaged in ongoing medical record reviews. Join us August 22–24, as we seek to flourish personally and professionally through powerful, thought-provoking, and must-attend sessions such as:

• Full Alert! A Guide to Improving Trauma Service Documentation
• What’s in a Drop? Interpreting CBC Results
• To Query or Not to Query: A Decision-Tree Approach to Sepsis
• Principal Diagnosis Dilemma
• Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Procedures
• And much more! 

As a bonus, we’re also including two keynote sessions from the 2023 ACDIS Conference, “The Choice to Flourish,” presented by Laurie L. Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC, ACDIS interim director, and “The Importance of Being… You: Lessons in Authenticity,” presented by Former ACDIS Director Brian Murphy.

Recharge your soul and revive your pride in the profession at ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online!

*Once you have purchased this event, you’ll have access to all recordings until September 30, 2023.

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Who Should Attend

• Setting: Short-term acute care; outpatient physician practices; ambulatory surgical center
• Clinical documentation integrity specialists
• CDI staff
• Inpatient coders
• CDI mangers/directors
• HIM managers/directors
• Case managers
• Revenue integrity specialists
• Chief financial officers
• Chief medical officers
• Physician advisors

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Agenda

Day 1 — Tuesday, August 22, 2023

12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Choice to Flourish
Laurie L. Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC
When you hear the word flourish, you may think of a flower garden, packed with an abundance of color and healthy green life. There’s another definition of the word, though. A person can flourish when they suddenly perform or develop in an impressively successful way. We all live for those moments when we enter the scene in total control and seize the day. It may be an exchange with a provider, a huge win in a record review, an influential conversation with senior management, or even a presentation at the ACDIS conference. Life is better when we celebrate the moments in which we flourish.

How do we create an environment in which everyone can flourish? We learn, share, and grow. We seek out mentors and offer to mentor others. We seek out new challenges and encourage others to do the same. The ACDIS conference offers a platform to adopt a new attitude, one that inspires you to look for ways to flourish every day.

If we strive to flourish and encourage others to do the same, the CDI profession will continue to grow beyond imagination. In this keynote, ACDIS interim director Laurie Prescott will challenge attendees to leave ACDIS 2023 with a plan for how they will perform in an impressively successful way and how they will instill the same drive in others. Flourishing is all about attitude, a willingness to inspire others, and the bravery to step up and put yourself out there.

12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Spinal Procedures: Code It Right!
Leigh Poland, RHIA, CCS, CDIP
During this session, attendees will learn about the information required to accurately assign the characters of a spinal fusion procedure code. Additionally, this session will identify those procedures performed during a spinal fusion that are considered integral and are not assigned additional codes—versus those that are not considered integral and are assigned separate codes. The session will also describe common CCs/MCCs seen with these procedures as well as how these procedure codes impact the MS-DRG and reimbursement.

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Finding Hidden Jewels in Priority and Impact Despite COVID-19 Waves
Gail B. Higle, BS, BSN, RN, CCDS
During the waves of COVID-19, CDI leadership at Piedmont Healthcare took their CDI game to the next level by implementing technology that prioritized worklists and automated query impact return on investment (ROI). Attendees will learn how priority worklists provided the most impactful cases to improve documentation as well as how impact ROI simplified the reconciliation process, providing CDI teams with meaningful query results.

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Procedures
Laura M. Anderson, BSN, RN, CCDS, and Anita Schmidt, BS, RHIA
This session will cover common procedures and root operations for hepatobiliary and pancreatic conditions, a brief overview of the body system, and related Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting guidance, Coding Clinic issues, and chapter-specific notations. Post-procedural complications and conditions will also be discussed.

Day 2 — Wednesday, August 23, 2023

12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Importance of Being… You: Lessons in Authenticity
Brian Murphy
We are all born with a unique soul and a one-of-a-kind voice. But many of us have grown afraid to be ourselves, or it’s been conditioned out of us in the world of work. Ultimately, we need a better approach in order to bring our best selves to work and to life. We need to leverage the power of our individuality and unique gifts through authenticity.

ACDIS was blessed with a unique voice. For the better part of its first 15 years, Melissa Varnavas served our community with her words and actions. Her focus included growing and serving ACDIS local chapters and developing the education—and fun—at the national conference. Through being herself—a poet and a free spirit—Melissa infused ACDIS with the character its members have come to appreciate and love. Melissa lost a brave battle with breast cancer in August 2022, but her spirit continues to be felt in all that the association stands for today. Join former ACDIS Director Brian Murphy as he returns to the stage to discuss the importance of authenticity in work and in life. He will talk about his journey of authenticity, share memories of working with Melissa, and honor her lasting contributions to the organization.

12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Query Compliance: It’s a Big Deal
Angela Brisson, BSN, RN, CCDS, and Amanda Suttles, BSN, RN, CCDS
This session will discuss the importance of query compliance and an accurate depiction of the patient’s clinical picture in the context of denials. Query construction will be addressed using the three-legged stool approach. Query writing will be reviewed in-depth, with examples of compliant and noncompliant queries.

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Principal Diagnosis Dilemma
Vanessa Elliott, BSN, RN, CCDS
This session will outline the guidelines for sequencing a principal diagnosis when signs and symptoms are reported. She will also introduce the PDF approach for determining a principal diagnosis and review case studies with opportunities, including DRGs that can further be clarified.

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Neurology CDI Review Tips: Using Your Brain
Cindy Hestir, MSN, RN, CCDS, and Lorilie A. Parker, RRT, MEd
Do you know the common queries for transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and cerebral infarctions? This session will review the optimal principal diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms related to TIA and cerebral infarctions as well as common query opportunities to clarify secondary diagnoses and therefore optimize severity of illness, mortality indicators, and/or DRGs.

Day 3 — Thursday, August 24, 2023

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
To Query or Not to Query: A Decision-Tree Approach to Sepsis
Heather J. Luton, BSN, RN, CCDS, and Jillian Mazurek, MSN/Ed, RN, CCDS, CCS
CDI departments across the country struggle with identifying and validating sepsis. This is especially difficult when one’s organization does not use a standardized definition. In this session, the speakers will discuss the differences between Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 criteria and explore one organization’s approach to navigating these uncertain waters using a decision tree.

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Coder Meets CDI: Partners in Denial Prevention
The root cause of many coding and clinical validation denials can be traced to a lack of overlapping knowledge between coding and CDI professionals. But what if the two professions could mentor each other? This session will endeavor to go beyond the basic principles of coding and CDI to facilitate a rock-solid clinical partnership between the two that will contribute to maintaining accuracy in the patient’s record, thus reducing and preventing payer denials.

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Full Alert! A Guide to Improving Trauma Service Documentation
Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, SFHM, CCS, CCDS
While achieving buy-in from trauma service physicians may seem incredibly daunting, it is possible to effect meaningful change. Learn how the CDI program at one academic medical center became routinely involved with their Level I trauma service to obtain and maintain significant documentation improvements. This session will review why you need to intervene with your trauma program, how to effectively engage trauma providers, the most common diagnosis documentation omissions, and the potential results that await your efforts.

3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
What’s in a Drop? Interpreting CBC Results
Rhoda Chism, MHL, RN, CCDS, CCS, CPHQ, and Sylvia Luna, MSN, RN, CCDS
Join this session to understand the components of complete blood count (CBC) lab reports and various disease processes associated with abnormal results. Rhoda Chism and Sylvia Luna will also discuss relevant Coding Clinic issues, erythrocyte indexes, types of white blood cells, and different classifications of anemia.

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Speakers

Laura M. Anderson, BSN, RN, CCDS, senior CDI specialist and educator, began her CDI career in 2007 at a Level I trauma facility in St. Paul, Minnesota, after working as a floor RN on step-down, short-stay, postoperative, and telemetry units. She also serves as a co-chair for the Minnesota ACDIS chapter.

Angela Brisson, BSN, RN, CCDS, is supervisor of CDI and utilization review services at UASI in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has more than 13 years of CDI experience, including CDI educator/leadership roles as well as remote and on-site staffing.

Rhoda Chism, MHL, RN, CCDS, CCS, CPHQ, is manager of CDI audit and education at Steward Health Care headquartered in Dallas, Texas. She has more than 20 years of CDI experience and more than 30 years of nursing experience, with an extensive background in critical care, emergency care, case management, and utilization review. A frequent presenter at national and state ACDIS conferences and guest on the ACDIS Podcast, she currently serves as a member of the ACDIS Leadership Council.

Vanessa Elliott, BSN, RN, CCDS, is an enterprise system CDI educator at WVU Medicine based in Morgantown, West Virginia. The team at WVU consists of a director, two managers, two educators, 25 inpatient staff, and two outpatient staff. She has 28 years of nursing experience and 10 years as a CDI professional. Prior to entering the CDI arena, Elliott worked in a variety of settings such as case management, utilization review, and ICU (which included neuro, CICU, and a mixed ICU setting). Elliott serves on the 2022/2023 ACDIS Leadership Council.

Cindy Hestir, MSN, RN, CCDS, is a CDI specialist at University of Missouri Healthcare in Columbia, Missouri, has more than 30 years of experience, and has been the CDI lead for the neurology and neurosurgery service line for five years. She is a member of the Missouri state conference planning committee, a past member of the ACDIS Events Committee, and a past ACDIS conference speaker.

Gail B. Higle, BS, BSN, RN, CCDS, is clinical documentation manager at Piedmont Healthcare in Peachtree, Georgia. She has been with Piedmont Healthcare CDI for over 10 years and seen the CDI program grow from two facilities and four CDI specialists to 19 facilities and over 50 CDI specialists. She has been the CDI manager for seven years, specifically as regional team manager and department data analyst. She is a member of ACDIS and the Georgia ACDIS local chapter.

Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, SFHM, CCS, CCDS, is the medical director for CDI and coding at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville in Knoxville, Tennessee. A past ACDIS Advisory Board member, La Charité is a regular presenter at the ACDIS pre-conference, The Physician Advisor’s Role in CDI. He is clinical assistant professor of internal medicine and curriculum director of the residency program’s hospitalist rotation. A practicing hospitalist for nearly 20 years, he has oversight spanning case management, utilization review, medical records, compliance, and performance improvement.

Sylvia Luna, MSN, RN, CCDS, is corporate CDI manager at Steward Health Care based in Dallas, Texas. She has 27 years of nursing and management experience with 12 years in CDI. She has a background in nursing education and is passionate about CDI education and team development. Luna is a current member of the ACDIS Leadership Council, past ACDIS poster presenter, and past member of the Texas ACDIS local chapter.

Heather J. Luton, BSN, RN, CCDS, is CDI supervisor at Prisma Health in Columbia, South Carolina. She has a background in emergency medicine and critical care and started her career in CDI in 2018. As a supervisor, she focuses on education within the CDI department. She gives numerous presentations to the CDI team, coding team, and different physician service lines. She leads and assists with systemwide CDI projects including clinical validation, risk adjustment variables, reconciliation/validation, Patient Safety Indicators, mortalities, and quality monitoring. She is a member of ACDIS, the South Carolina ACDIS local chapter, and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Jillian Mazurek, MSN/Ed, RN, CCDS, CCS, is a CDI coordinator at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina. She has more than 17 years of nursing experience in acute care with a background in cardiology and heart and lung transplant care. She has been working in CDI since 2017. In her current role, she serves as orientation lead, query compliance reviewer/query committee head, staff educator, and second-level reviewer. She has written a departmental policy for a systematic approach to query reviews and developed a central communication tool and repository for reference materials in a rapidly expanding remote CDI department. Mazurek is the current social media director for the South Carolina ACDIS local chapter.

Brian Murphy serves as the branding director for Norwood in Austin, Texas. Norwood provides staffing and consulting services for organizations and professionals throughout the mid-revenue cycle. Murphy is the former founder and longtime director of ACDIS, which he served from 2007 to 2022. In his current role, he is responsible for enhancing and elevating careers of mid-revenue cycle professionals through his writings and new podcast, Off the Record.

Lorilie A. Parker, RRT, MEd, is a CDI specialist at the University of Missouri Healthcare in Columbia, Missouri. She has 30 years of experience in healthcare, including two years of CDI experience performing chart reviews for quality and financial integrity as well as provider education. She also has 16 years’ experience as an associate professor teaching respiratory care at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and 30 years’ experience as an ICU and general care Registered Respiratory Therapist.

Leigh Poland, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, is vice president of the coding service line at AGS Health based in Washington, D.C. She has more than 25 years of coding, auditing, and CDI experience and has worked extensively in coding and education for the last 15 years. Poland has presented at the AHIMA National Convention, ACDIS conference, and AAPC Convention on multiple occasions and has written articles for the Journal of AHIMA. Poland has traveled the U.S. and internationally providing coding education.

Laurie L. Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC, is the interim director of ACDIS at HCPro in Middleton, Massachusetts. She is an instructor for the CDI Boot Camps, a subject matter expert for ACDIS, a member of the CCDS and CCDS-O exam boards, and a member of the ACDIS Advisory Board. She is also the author of the best-selling ACDIS Pocket Guide series and co-author of the CDI Specialist’s Training Guide, Third Edition.

Anita Schmidt, BS, RHIA, is senior capability manager for Optum in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has expertise in ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS, DRG, and CPT® with more than 15 years’ experience in coding in multiple settings, including inpatient, observation, and same-day surgery. She has conducted training for ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS and the electronic health record. She has also collaborated with CDI specialists to identify documentation needs and potential areas for physician education.

Robin Sewell, CDIP, CCDS-O, CCS, CPC, CIC, is an independent consultant at HIM Analytic Solutions LLC in Hobe Sound, Florida. Her background spans 25 years across the healthcare continuum, including RAC audits, clinical validation, and DRG audits. Known as the “Queen of Denial,” Sewell used her knowledge of payer tactics to develop the software application “Cleopatra Queen of Denial” on behalf of providers to prevent, manage, appeal, and overturn payer denials. Currently, her scope of practice is identifying CDI and coding opportunities through data analytics.

Amanda Suttles, BSN, RN, CCDS, is supervisor of CDI and utilization review services at United Audit Systems Inc. (UASI) in Cincinnati. She has more than 14 years of CDI experience, including CDI educator and leadership roles as well as remote and on-site staffing. She is a member of ACDIS both nationally and in her local state, where she served as the secretary for two years. She has presented at the South Carolina ACDIS local chapter, at the 2020 ACDIS conference, and at multiple healthcare institutions in addition to creating and presenting internal education to UASI staff.

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Learning Outcomes

After attending this virtual event, participants will be able to:

• Identify common patterns of white blood cell increase or decrease in disease processes
• Develop processes to encourage and maintain better trauma service documentation practices
• List examples of inconclusive and/or conflicting documentation that can create opportunities for denials
• Identify query opportunities utilizing the decision tree model
• Define the key components of a query

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Pricing

• Retail price: $399.00
• Membership price: $379.00
• 2023 ACDIS National Conference attendee price: $299.00

Group pricing is as follows:

• 4-10 attendees = each attendee receives 10% discount off retail price
• 11-15 attendees = each attendee receives 15% discount off retail price
• 16-20 attendees = each attendee receives 20% discount off retail price
• 21+ attendees = each attendee receives 25% discount off retail price

ACDIS Encore: Clinical & Coding Online

Continuing Education

Coming Soon!