
Clinical documentation is at the core of every patient encounter. In order to be meaningful it must be accurate, timely, and reflect the scope of services provided. Successful clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs facilitate the accurate representation of a patient’s clinical status that translates into coded data. Coded data is then translated into quality reporting, physician report cards, reimbursement, public health data, and disease tracking and trending.
The convergence of clinical, documentation, and coding processes is vital to a healthy revenue cycle, and more important, to a healthy patient. To that end, CDI has a direct impact on patient care by providing information to all members of the care team, as well as those downstream who may be treating the patient at a later date.
A CDI program includes a myriad of people, processes, and technology that must work together to ensure success. Organizations need a well-rounded individual who can effectively articulate all the pieces: documentation requirements, code assignment, coding guidelines, and quality reporting.
CDI professionals come to the role from a variety of backgrounds, the two backgrounds seen most often are health information management (HIM) professionals and nurses. HIM professionals, through their education, are familiar with compliant documentation rules and regulations as well as accreditation standards that affect timely documentation. In addition, HIM professionals are also familiar with important areas such as privacy, security, and confidentiality that also impact sharing of clinical information. Nurses have a strong clinical background which helps them identify gaps in the clinical evidence and documentation. Both of these backgrounds provide a good foundation to become a CDI professional.
AHIMA is committed to advancing clinical documentation improvement (CDI) by providing education and training, certification, and other valuable resources to CDI professionals. Whether you are new to the CDI career, transitioning from a coding or clinical background, or an experienced CDI professional, AHIMA provides education and resources to support your lifelong learning and continued advancement.
Improve your earning potential, increase opportunity for career advancement.
Now, more than ever, CDI professionals are in high demand. By obtaining AHIMA’s Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP®) certification, professionals distinguish themselves as knowledgeable and competent in this field.
Learn more about the CDIP certification and resources to prepare for the exam.
VIRTUAL MEETING
CERTIFIED DOCUMENTATION IMPROVEMENT PRACTITIONER (CDIP): ADVANCING THE PRACTICE VIRTUAL LEARNING
CEUs: 9 (for all six webinars and one interactive learning session)
Interactive Learning Session:
June 13, 2018
October 24, 2018
Using webinars, this series prepares you for the CDIP exam. The program reviews the six domains covered in the exam to help you improve your performance
Webinar series includes:
DOMAIN 1: CLINICAL CODING PRACTICE
DOMAIN 2: LEADERSHIP
DOMAIN 3: RECORD REVIEW & DOCUMENT CLARIFICATION
DOMAIN 4: CDI METRICS & STATISTICS
DOMAIN 5: RESEARCH & EDUCATION
DOMAIN 6: COMPLIANCE
IN-PERSON MEETING
CDI Summit
August 6–7, 2018 | Baltimore, MD
The summit consists of interactive sessions and real world examples providing critical insights into CDI programs as well as advanced networking opportunities.
CDI Academy: Inpatient and Outpatient Best Practices
August 8–10, 2018 | Baltimore, MD
At this three-day, in-person meeting, you will learn about CDI best practices through real-life examples, exercises, and breakout sessions on specific clinical and coding topics.
Live Webinars
All webinars last 60 minutes and begin at 12 noon CT. Registration for live webinars closes 24 hours before the event. After that time you can purchase a recorded version of the webinar.
February 6, 2018
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How the EHR Can Improve Your MIPS CDI |
March 6, 2018
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Medical Residents as Key Players in Clinical Documentation |
April 10, 2018
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Policies, Training, and Systems to Protect the Integrity of the Medical Record
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June 5, 2018
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CDI Hot Topics |
July 10, 2018
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Complex CDI Clinical Scenarios, Query Opportunities and MS-DRG/APR-DRG Analyses with Questions and Answers |
November 6, 2018
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Multi-disciplinary Collaboration in CDI
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December 4, 2018
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AHIMA Practice Briefs that Impact CDI
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On-Demand Webinars
Don’t worry if you’ve missed a webinar! AHIMA has a number of webinar replays pre-recorded for you to view anytime, anywhere. You will also receive 2 CEUs per webinar replay.
To view all on-demand webinars, click here.
AHIMA offers a number of resources to assist organizations, CDI professionals and those interested in a career in CDI.
HIM Body of Knowledge™ Online Library
Monthly Blog: Documentation Detective
Infographic: The CDI Journey
Practice Briefs and Toolkits Member only resource; join during July and save $30 on your membership
Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP®)
Now more than ever, a strong, highly respected clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program can make a difference in achieving the goals of RAC audits, ARRA/HITECH, and other important initiatives aimed at improving the quality of healthcare. In response to industry demand, the Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) developed the CDIP credential.
Professionals earning the CDIP credential will:
- Be distinguished as knowledgeable and competent in clinical documentation in patient health records
- Be positioned as leaders and role models in the health informatics and information management community
- Demonstrate competency in capturing documentation necessary to fully communicate patients’ health status and conditions
- Help provide a strong base of expertise in the industry
AHIMA certification can also help to:
- Improve earning potential
- Increase opportunity for career advancement
- Provide a forum to connect with colleagues
As technology changes the way documentation is captured through the use of EHRs, AHIMA is leading the effort to ensure it is still clear, concise, and compliant. AHIMA has extensive expertise in CDI guidance, knowledge of documentation requirements relative to compliant coding and billing, in addition to EHR functionality to support documentation capture.
At the heart of AHIMA’s mission and vision is documentation that supports quality health information. The CDIP certification confirms the commitment of AHIMA to globally improve and maintain quality information for those involved in healthcare as well as support the integrity of the patient’s health record.
Eligibility
Candidates who would like to sit for the CDIP exam must meet one of the eligibility requirements below:
- An RHIA®, RHIT®, CCS®, CCS-P®, RN, MD or DO and two (2) years experience in clinical documentation improvement
- An Associate’s degree or higher and three (3) years of experience in clinical documentation improvement (candidates must also have completed coursework in Medical Terminology and Anatomy and Physiology)