Nashville conference illustrates growth of CDI profession · Nashville conference illustrates...

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Overwhelming. If anyone were to ask me how the sixth annual ACDIS national conference was, that’s the word I’d choose to describe it.

Every year in our conference recap, I exclaim how this conference gathered more CDI professionals, offered more

education sessions, and presented more networking oppor-tunities than ever before. With more than 1,000 total partici-pants, seven educational tracks, more than 50 speakers, and 35 exhibitors, the 2013 conference in Nashville really was the largest conference yet.

Thanks for staff supportIn fact, it was the largest ever hosted by our parent

company HCPro, Inc., too. In addition to our core ACDIS team, more than 20 staff members and workers helped fill 900-plus bags with materials, registered participants, attended to customers at the ACDIS bookstore, moder-

ated educational sessions, and more. That doesn’t begin to account for all the additional assistance offered by almost every employee back at the home office—handling hotel and conference center considerations, reviewing and format-ting the PowerPoint® presentations, setting up the various laptops and projectors used for the presentations, printing and stuffing participants’ name tags and various ribbons, ensuring continuing education credits were obtained and learning objectives met.

All this behind-the-scenes effort is done to support the vitality that conference attendees bring to the event. It isn’t just the ACDIS/HCPro staff members who make the con-ference so successful year after year, though.

Chapter leaders play important roleThis year in particular I was struck by the outpouring of

effort from ACDIS local chapter leadership. For example, when an unexpected burst of attendees surprised staff members at the early registration desk, Minnesota ACDIS

Associate director’s note

Nashville conference illustrates growth of CDI profession

Associate Director Melissa Varnavas joined nearly 30 local chapter leaders to discuss strategies for growing local networking education opportunities on

Day 2 of the conference.

Photo by Kathy Wilson

August 2013 3

Day 2, a handful of volunteers donned a variety of costumes to participate in a mock wedding. ACDIS Membership Services Director Penny Richards is also a legal justice of the peace and the coordinator of our poster contributors. After seeing a few submissions dealing with the theme of physi-cian “engagement,” she reached out to see if anyone would be willing to help her pull off a “marriage” between physi-cians and CDI programs. Richards shouldered her formal black robe, Robert S. Gold, MD, introduced the event, and volunteer Jamie Dugan (a Florida ACDIS Chapter leader) put on a hospital johnny and pushed an IV pole down the aisle flanked by Dawn Mattison and Chelsea Gilbert from Guthrie Health in Sayre, Pa.

After the conference sessions ended, the ACDIS com-munity poured out onto the streets of Nashville. Many exhibitors hosted after-hour events, and various ACDIS committees met to let their hair down at local watering holes. There was Jack’s Bar-B-Que, Merchants, and the Hard Rock Café. There was the Wildhorse Saloon where various attendees attempted to ride the mechanical bull, and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, which backs up to the Grand Ole Opry. And we hope we won’t be divulging too much to mention that a number of attendees were caught karaoke-ing.

Chapter leader Marc LeBlanc helped hand out bags and dis-tribute name tags.

And two of this year’s three achievement awards went to local chapter leaders—Professional of the Year award winner Nancy Ignatowicz and Recognition of Professional Achievement award winner Ailsa Kompare.

During the leadership breakfast on Day 2, nearly 30 individuals met to discuss ways they could increase educational opportunities for their members and improve networking efforts overall. Later, at the Day 2 lunch, various leaders inspired attendees from their respective states to wear themed clothing and fostered conversations around the table. During the lunch, the Tennessee ACDIS Chapter hosted a trivia contest and distributed thoughtful, Nashville-inspired treats to the winners. (Yummy MoonPies!)

Not to mention the numerous leaders—Kentucky, Indiana, South Carolina, the children’s/pediatric CDI net-working group, and the “CDI Talk” group—who arranged special after-hour meet-up events on the evening before the conference began to help attendees start their conference experience off right.

Clearly, so much of ACDIS’ growth is owed to the grass-roots efforts of these tremendous, hardworking volunteers, and I am so personally and professionally gratified to be able to work with them all on a daily basis.

Participant involvement mattersIn Chicago in 2010 we encouraged everyone to show

their ACDIS pride by wearing purple and orange on the first day of the conference. Watching the parade of people in purple dresses and orange scarves, seeing even physicians get into the spirit of the event by wearing orange collared shirts and purple ties, witnessing complete strangers hug because they recognized the distinctive garb of a fellow ACDIS member has been a highlight of the conference for me every year since.

This year the jovial camaraderie reached a pitch all its own as strangers wearing nearly identical clothing schemes posed for photos taken by volunteer and speaker Vicki Davis, who snapped photographs at every opportunity. Without her tremendous efforts this special section would certainly be much less special. Fun-loving, generous-spirited attendees happily posed for her shots.

During the allotted poster session viewing period on

ACDIS by the numbers

Take a look at some of the numbers behind this year’s

ACDIS conference.

» Pre-conference events: 2

» Pre-conference attendees: 144

» Number of pre-conference days: 2

» Number of main conference tracks: 7

» Number of main conference days: 2.5

» Conference attendees: 870, total of 1,030 including

exhibitors, speakers, and staff

» Exhibitors: 35

» Speakers: 52

» CCDS exam participants: 32; 26 passed

» Number of attendees who purchased cowboy boots while

in Nashville: ???

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querying and reviewing appropriately, that there are like-minded people in the world, people who … well, people who read and love the same book you do and can’t wait to read it with you.

To wrap up, I’ll leave you with a small sample of what participants said following this year’s conference, and I hope to see you next year in Las Vegas! » It was such a great learning and relearning experience and

so encouraging to know that other people have the same problems as we have in our facility but that everyone is working toward a solution.

» The annual ACDIS conference provides an excellent opportunity for professionals in the field to network with colleagues from a variety of provider settings to gain insight on trials, tribulations, and best practices.

» I come home each year with ideas. It’s simply a great deal of fun, and intellectually, very stimulating. Where else can you talk to so many people that “get” what we do and the challenges we face? Sharing, support, ideas, solu-tions … commiseration. Commiseration.

» The conference gets me out of my little corner of the world, sparks my interest in improving my efforts, and inspires me to move to the next highest level. n

Enhancing knowledge, furthering CDI excellenceWhen I was small, I had a favorite book and knew every

word from front to back. In kindergarten, I brought it to show-and-tell. When the teacher began to read, I was over-come with excitement and kept nudging my neighbor, whis-pering about what would happen next.

In the session breakout rooms at ACDIS this year, the excitement was like that. Participants nudged each other, murmured back salient points from the presentation, ques-tioned each other about how their programs “back home” do it, thrilled to hear their own stories repeated about: » What physicians say » What physicians write » What CDI specialists do

And as their stories were shared, and shared, and shared, there were nods of agreement, commiserating eye rolls, smiles, laughs, and hugs as strangers became friends, mentors.

For me, this is what the conference is all about— sharing stories and best practices, learning from the top experts in the industry, and learning from each other. For those who attend, there is an acknowledgment that they and, by exten-sion, their CDI programs are on the right track, they are

Famous for its MoonPies, the Tennessee ACDIS Chapter picked up a num-

ber of boxes to give away as prizes to the Day 2 trivia contest winners.

Photo by Melissa Varnavas

Once loose from the day’s learning, ACDIS staff and attendees stormed

the streets of downtown Nashville where music literally does pour from

every door and the barbecue is divine.


August 2013 5

by Nancy R. Ignatowicz, RN, MBA, CCDS

I was so honored to be named the 2013 CDI Professional of the Year. I was shocked, nearly speechless, when I was notified. When it came time for me to accept the award, on stage in front of so many of my peers, I felt like I was walk-ing on Hollywood’s famous red carpet.

Although I was standing alone at the podium, I truly felt as though I was representing everyone I have met and worked with since starting my CDI career in 2001. I am proud of where I have been and where I am currently in my career. CDI is an exciting and dynamic professional choice. Over the years, it has allowed me to spread my wings and fly and mentor others to do the same.

As the adage goes, “There is no ‘I’ in team,” and likewise I would not have received this award without the team of indi-viduals I work with and those who have helped shaped me in my past. I am a product of my history, both past and present.

And that’s part of what ACDIS is all about as well. ACDIS epitomizes teamwork. ACDIS is a community of

professionals who share strategies for success. ACDIS brings CDI professionals together through networking. It is those

CDI Professional of the Year

Hallmarks of growth: Community and teamwork networking opportunities that make ACDIS and those asso-ciated with ACDIS feel like family.

From talking with Director Brian Murphy and Assistant Director Melissa Varnavas, as well as the ACDIS Advisory Board members, I have received advice, input, and sugges-tions. From those ACDIS staff members behind the scenes such as Member Services Specialist Penny Richards and Editor Geri Spanek, who helped me hone my book The CDI Toolkit, I have felt professionally supported as I worked to achieve my career goals.

The ACDIS family feel transcended to my personal life during this year’s awards banquet in Nashville. My parents asked if they could come to see me accept the award. The ACDIS team graciously welcomed them and reserved spots for all of us at the front of the hall. My parents were so pleased to see me accept the award and I was so grateful to have them there by my side.

Even further, I have benefited tremendously from regional networking through the Northern Illinois ACDIS Chapter, learning from Colleen Stukenberg, Linnea Thennes, Ron Tapnio, and the other members.

Ignatowicz’s collaborative spirit marks staff

by Nancy Madsen, BSN, RN-BC, CCDS

With more than 30 years of clinical and administrative nursing

experience as well as clinical documentation and quality improve-

ment experience, Nancy Ignatowicz has a large knowledge base

to draw from.

She has been able to collaborate with all the players of the

medical record here at Loyola, a large university teaching medical

center in Maywood, Ill., to ensure that everyone is an active mem-

ber of the team—from the steering committee, attending physi-

cians, residents, to the entire coding team, even IT. She helped

realign the goals of the program to ensure the best outcomes and

has educated all team members on the importance of severity of

illness and risk of mortality scores, as well as how to best inter-

pret the data for continued improvement.

In 2013, Ignatowicz published The CDI Toolkit through ACDIS

and has been a very active member of our national organization.

She has been a coleader of the Illinois ACDIS Chapter, hosted

meetings, and presented educational sessions. She was not only

well received, but many members requested her slides to use for

educational purposes at their own institutions, which isn’t surpris-

ing since she has been a past speaker at ACDIS national confer-

ences and for ACDIS audio conferences.

Because I report to her, I understand how well she works with her

staff and never against them, promoting their efforts above her own.

Editor’s note: Madsen is a CDI specialist at Loyola and included

the above comments in her nomination of Ignatowicz for the 2013

CDI Professional of the Year award.

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And I would be remiss to not mention how valuable all my experiences have been, from working locally with Loyola University Health Systems (Loyola University Medical Center and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital), to learning from my Administrative Director Krista Curley and the entire CDI team of coders, nurses, physicians, and administrators.

In truth, it is through networking and teamwork that we achieve success. I am honored to accept the 2013 CDI Professional of the Year award on behalf of all CDI profes-sionals striving in this field and in honor of the greater CDI networking team. n

Editor’s note: Ignatowicz is the CDI manager at Loyola University Health Systems in Chicago. Nominated by her peers and selected by the ACDIS Conference Committee, she earned distinction by being named the 2013 CDI Professional of the Year award winner in Nashville. Contact her at [email protected].

The 2013 ACDIS awards.

CDI Professional of the Year award winner Nancy Ignatowicz and ACDIS

Director Brian Murphy.

Professional of the Year award winner Nancy Ignatowicz enjoys lunch beside her coworkers and parents who traveled from Illinois for the occasion.

Photo by Penny Richards

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by Judy Schade, RN, MSN, CCM, CCDS

I would like to personally thank ACDIS for being a fan-tastic association as it provides education, resources, support, networking opportunities, and helps clinical documentation specialists accomplish their goals in light of changing and challenging conditions.

I am very honored and humbled to receive this award. One person cannot create a successful CDI program. This requires a team effort with strong leadership, administrative support, and organizational partnerships.

I have been very fortunate in my career at Mayo Clinic to work with colleagues who share my passion for clinical documentation and excellence in the constant pursuit of a complete and accurate medical record.

My advice is to network with others, gather

resources, and partner with colleagues.

One Mayo Clinic physician I worked with over the years commented in the nomination form that I am “a perfectionist who sets and meets very high standards without being annoy-ing! Also her sense of humor is delightful.”

Actually I like to say that I am very detail-oriented. Although, I am very persistent in my clinical documentation efforts and we all need to laugh at some of the documenta-tion we find in medical records!

Seven years ago, Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix hired me as their first CDI specialist. Now, there are six RNs who work with two coding partners. My philos-ophy on CDI is to share knowledge and empower others. As you well know, trying to educate very busy providers in the ever-changing environment of healthcare regula-tions and documentation improvement needs makes for a very difficult job.

We need to embrace the opportunities available to us to learn from others, to become a part of the process, and communicate, communicate, communicate. This is both an exciting and challenging time in healthcare. My advice is to network with others, gather resources, and part-ner with colleagues. In my opinion, ACDIS membership

Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement

Success requires collaboration, communication

and attendance at the annual conference is a great way to accomplish these goals.

I am going to leave you with some advice which has served me well. As my physician friend said, “Be persistent but not annoying.” And if you cannot take the direct route, try the scenic route. Keep smiling and others will know you are having fun. Finally, remember, tomorrow is a new day and new opportunity. n

Editor’s note: Schade earned the Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement award, nominated by her peers and selected by the 2013 ACDIS Conference Committee. She is a CDI specialist at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Above is her award acceptance speech. Contact her at [email protected].

Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement award winner Judy Schade

poses with ACDIS Director Brian Murphy.

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Education efforts further enhance excellence

by Pamela Foster, LCSW, MBA-HCM, ACM

Judy Schade is by far the most outstanding clinical documen-

tation professional with whom I have ever worked. She indepen-

dently developed the clinical documentation program at Mayo

Clinic in Arizona without the assistance of a formal program or

vendor. And she continued to advance the CDI program as its sole

CDI staff member for roughly six years before additional staff

were brought in to work alongside her.

Her skill and knowledge level in clinical documentation and

coding is unmatched. She has a deep commitment to clinical

documentation and quality. Coupled with her extensive knowl-

edge of utilization review and case management, she has made

a tremendous impact. Because of Schade’s work, Mayo Clinic in

Arizona has had many positive outcomes including increased case-

mix index, the lowest mortality rate in the Mayo Clinic enterprise,

increased reporting of accurate severity of illness and risk of mor-

tality measures, and increased MCC/CC capture rate.

Schade is dedicated to the education process for clinical docu-

mentation and devotes herself to providing targeted education to

physicians, residents, mid-level providers, coders, case managers,

and administrators. Her presentations are of the highest quality

and she has a unique way of conveying the information so that

it is understood by any audience. This, in turn, has made Schade

extremely well respected within the Mayo Clinic organization and

she has become the “go-to” person for any CDI-related questions.

As an example of her CDI education efforts, Schade and our

CDI physician advisor co-developed a full-day, annual curriculum

for Mayo Clinic graduate medical students. In it, the students

learn the concepts of documentation and quality indicators as

well as the importance of partnering with utilization and quality

management teams. She aims to help teach residents about “the

systems” they work within.

Her efforts consistently earn high ratings from the residents

and she is often asked to come back to the individual departments

to provide more targeted information.

As another example of her educational efforts, she developed

a comprehensive CDI resource booklet for all providers to carry in

their pocket and has developed a plethora of educational materi-

als for all clinical departments. Schade has the mammoth task of

keeping these current.

Additionally, she has trained CDI “department champions.” These

consist of mid-level practitioners (physician assistants and nurse

practitioners) who work with the physicians on clinical documenta-

tion concerns. An active member of ACDIS for many years, she

earned her CCDS credential and maintains connections with many

ACDIS members and CDI professionals throughout the nation.

The Mayo Clinic remains “the most trusted brand” in U.S.

healthcare, and I would contend that Judy’s work is a major

contributor to that perception. Judy has helped keep Mayo in

the forefront of true healthcare quality including the “Leapfrog”

designation.

She and I were coworkers at Mayo Clinic for three years while

I was the manager of case management. During that time, she

served as a mentor to me as well as a collaborative partner in our

work. During our years together, she provided CDI education to

my case management staff and established a wonderful partner-

ship between the two departments. Personally, my knowledge

base grew tremendously by working with her.

She taught me a great deal about coding, reimbursement,

denials, appeals, and components of clinical documentation.

Schade was a tremendous colleague and partner. I eventually

transferred to another Mayo Clinic site, but I still call on her occa-

sionally and she always makes time to answer a question or share

her perspective. It is a privilege to nominate her for this award,

and I cannot think of a more deserving professional.

Editor’s note: Foster is the director of care coordination for

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis. Her comments

were included in her nomination of Schade, who earned the 2013

Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement.

August 2013 9

by Wendy De Vreugd, RN, BSN, PHN, FNP, CCDS, MBA

In 2011, West Region Kindred began awarding case management (CM) scholarships annually to support the professional growth and development of its case managers. The objective was to help promote succession planning by preparing higher CM competencies for the future and to promote staff retention.

It was also developed in response to feedback from our annual CM satisfaction surveys; they wanted more oppor-tunities to grow! In January 2013, Ailsa Kompare, RN, BS, ACM, CCDS, MHA, became Kindred’s very first West Region Scholarship graduate.

As Kindred’s Las Vegas Market CDI specialist, she has worked very hard to attain her degree while maintaining her

Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement

Taking multitasking to a new leveldedication to improved outcomes and documentation clarity at the facilities she works with.

Kompare created CDI monthly champion awards and a CDI newsletter to facilitate physician outreach and educa-tion. She took on the Las Vegas area’s postacute LTAC CDI efforts and dramatically improved CC/MCC capture rates, case-mix index, and revenue per patient day for three acute care hospitals. If that wasn’t a full enough plate, she launched the Las Vegas ACDIS Chapter and co-chaired Kindred’s West Region CDI advisory board. And did we mention that she was going to school to obtain her mas-ter’s degree?

She combines motherhood, job expertise in CDI, school, and community activities. To me these are superhuman efforts and I am really glad that she received recognition for “reaching for the stars” both in CDI and personally.

“I am so proud to work with Ailsa and to see her grow in her career,” said Jennifer Schomburg, CEO of Kindred’s Las Vegas Integrated Market, in a letter supporting her nomination. In the letter, Schomburg pointed to Kompare’s leadership, professionalism, humor, and “caring heart.”

“If I could clone nurses like Ailsa, healthcare would surely be a better place. Her passion for patient care, people, and education is truly impressive,” Schomburg wrote.

Thinking about her efforts toward earning her degree in healthcare administration, Kompare said, “I feel a great deal of pride—I actually did it! I am not going to say that it was easy, because it was not. As a single mother I had to get a little creative to manage the rigors of an academic schedule, full-time work schedule, along with my children’s extracurricular activities. However, I did learn a lot about myself and my family and friends, and about healthcare administration also!” n

Editor’s note: De Vreugd is the senior director of case management, West Region, Kindred Healthcare, Hospital Division in Westminster, Calif., and a former ACDIS Advisory Board member. She originally wrote this article to share with the Kindred community. It has been adapt-ed for ACDIS to reflect Kompare’s CDI achievements.

Former ACDIS Advisory Board member Wendy De Vreugd accepts

the Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement award on behalf of

Ailsa Kompare.

Photo by Vicki Davis

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by Abby Steelhammer, MBA, MHA, RN

How have you applied what you learned during the 6th annual ACDIS conference in Nashville? And no, I am not referring to how you triumphed over the mechanical bull, found the best deal on designer cowboy boots, or dis-

covered your true talent is songwriting. Don’t get me wrong, these are valuable life skills and

no doubt you will use them for the greater good, but I am referring to the billowing cornucopia of CDI information that was broadcast and disseminated so eloquently that even Music City had to take notice.

There were many calls to action involving all of the hot topics and buzzwords—patient safety indicators, ICD-10, Recovery Auditors, ethics, clinical guidelines, etc.—but my heart is always drawn to the realm of quality and how to infuse an organization’s quality mission into meaning and value for its CDI program.

Sometimes it feels like an uphill battle. I still encounter peers and senior leaders who are not familiar with CDI and who do not understand all the organizational initiatives we can support. The ACDIS national conference is the remedy

CDI in Music City

Adapt conference lessons to program practicesfor this each and every year; it gives renewed clarity and strength to continue the CDI effort and rise to meet new CDI challenges.

Recap of the quality trackSeveral presentations along the quality track made lasting

impressions on me and gave me and my coworkers tangible tools we could apply when we returned to our facility.

“Enhance the Value of Your Clinical Documentation Program Under Value-Based Purchasing,” presented by Shannon Newell and James Kennedy, MD, demonstrated the significance of CDI related to VBP metrics and offered ways to leverage CDI specialists in focused areas to make improvements.

Tamara Hicks and Melinda Matthews gave an inspiring recount of interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in “Partnering With Quality Assurance: The Impact of CDI on Quality Reporting.”

Ideas for innovationThe quality track of sessions focused on innovation and

program expansion, providing a forum for many ideas to take root. The session titled “Healthy Cardiac Patients Dying at ABC Hospital” by Christine Williams was a true atten-

HCPro Inpatient Coding Boot Camp instructor Jennifer Avery and

Richard Pinson, MD, read each other’s invaluable CDI references.

Photo by Penny RichardsACDIS speaker Vicki Davis not only presented at this year’s conference but

volunteered to be our paparazzi, taking hundreds of photographs including

this one, her favorite. Check out the styling orange hat band with purple trim!


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and information sharing helps sustain me throughout the year, sharing common threads, new initiatives, and lessons learned.

We were fortunate to have more than one individual from our organization attend and we were able to present a poster this year. The poster presentations are not only a great opportunity to highlight our program, but a wonder-ful way to meet more conference attendees. Our group genuinely enjoyed seeing the interest generated by our topic and exchanging ideas.

A team member of mine attending the conference for the first time this year expressed how much she gained from the awesome supportive network of colleagues. We both value how sharing our stories with colleagues leads to a feeling of validation regarding the direction of our own efforts.

She had such a positive experience she volunteered to participate on next year's conference committee. Next year’s conference in Las Vegas May 7–9 promises to be all that Nashville was and more. Please consider attendance a priority for your organization. It is through this common support of professionals and peers that we will continue to make our mark in healthcare. n

Editor’s note: Steelhammer is a CDI manager with Novant Health, based in Charlotte, N.C. Contact her at absteelhammer@ novanthealth.org.

tion grabber, and the session “PEPPER and SOI/ROM: Reinvigorate Your CDI Program With Mortality Reviews” by Vicki Davis was both entertaining and informative.

At my facility, we were already working on a plan to implement mortality reviews, but the quality-centered edu-cation pertaining to outcomes and the information offered regarding how a targeted approach affects your efforts really sealed the deal for us, enabling us to move full steam ahead into new territory.

A few months post-conference, this effort continues to be a work in progress, but with the help of expert colleagues who have already forged a path for us to follow, I know our goals will be exceeded and that measurable impact is within sight.

A dose of laughter for educational medicineFor those of you who were fortunate enough to attend

“Motivating Mutineers: Keeping Docs on Board” by William Klompus, MD, you received that daily dose of laughter recommended by this year’s keynote speaker, Greg Risberg. In his keynote address, Risberg urged us to take care of ourselves and re-energize ourselves with “feel-good” strategies for work-life balance, and Klompus, meanwhile, reminded us of why we need so many feel-good strategies when working closely with physicians to imple-ment change.

Networking and reconnecting with industry experts is always a highlight of the conference; the camaraderie

A crowd forms following Greg Risberg’s keynote address, “How to Stay

Energized in a Changing World.”

Photo by Vicki DavisPacked sessions frequently left standing room only for tardy partici-

pants. Tip: Plan which sessions you want to attend ahead of time and

make sure to arrive early to get a good seat.

Photo by Rachel Dicker

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Editor’s note: The idea of poster presentations originated from ACDIS conference attendee feedback and began with fewer than a dozen volunteers in Chicago in 2010. This year there were 26 poster presentations with topics as diverse as the volunteers who created them and CDI programs they rep-resented. Kimberly Richert’s presentation took an “Around the world in 80 days” theme as she illustrated her professional growth and career progression in a presentation titled “My CDI Journey.” While some were handcrafted, others were professionally printed. One even included a YouTube video and another inspired a mock wedding (see p. 13).

Poster presenters receive 50% off conference registration fees. If you are interested in presenting at the 2014 conference, email ACDIS Member Services Specialist Penny Richards at prichards@ cdiassociation.com.

The 2013 ACDIS poster presentations included: » Abby Steelhammer from Novant/Presbyterian

Healthcare in Charlotte, N.C., presented “DRG and query reconciliation”

» Charrington Morell from HCA based in Palm Harbor, Fla., presented “Challenges of migrating from paper to electronic reviews and queries”

» Dawn Mattison from Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, Pa., presented “Physician Engagement—not the marrying kind—how to get them to commit”

» Dawn Shende from Skyline Med Center, Tristar Division, in Nashville, presented “CDI RN trial at inpatient rehab facility”

» Debbie Koole from John C. Lincoln Health Network in Phoenix presented “CDS and coder collaboration for positive quality and financial outcomes”

Posters offer networking and education for attendees » Elaine Shimkus from Carolinas Healthcare in Charlotte,

N.C., presented “Multi-disciplinary approach to manag-ing med necessity, CACs, and LOC”

» Glenda Grandy from Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., presented “Geriatric fracture program”

» Ida Rubino from William Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., presented “Beaumont’s ‘Full Circle Review’ program”

» Jamie Dugan from Baptist Hospital System in Jacksonville, Fla., presented “Maintain forward momentum and positive motivation in your established program”

» Karen Burger from Catholic Health in Buffalo, N.Y., presented “Team Building: CDI and coding”

» Kimberly Richert from Morton Plant Mease Health Care in Safety Harbor, Fla., presented “My CDI journey”

» Linda Rhodes from New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., presented “Multi-disciplinary collaboration to reduce HACs and improve clinical outcomes”

» Debera DuBree from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago presented “Effectiveness of implementation of a new model for CDI”

» Naomi Coachman from Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Ala., presented “Paint the patient’s picture”

» Natalie Esquibel from Denver Health Medical Center presented “Our roadmap to success”

» Patricia Nash and Linda Pomroy from Boston Medical Center presented “Interfaced query with EMR”

Virginia Bailey, Akiko Daniels, and her daughter Kimberly Richert set up

Richert’s poster presentation.


Jamie Dugan hams it up as she puts the finishing touches on her poster.


August 2013 13

Colorado presented a YouTube physician education video “Physician Education on CDI efforts”

» Susan Snyder from St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa., presented “Chest pain query project”

» Virginia Bailey from MedPartnersHIM in Philadelphia pre-sented “Innovative physician engagement ideas for ICD-10”

» Mark Dominesey from Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., presented “Directed step query”

» Katy Good from Flagstaff (Ariz.) Medical Center pre-sented “Mortality review process”

» Judy Cassetty from Northwest Texas Healthcare in Houston presented “Physician Engagement: Getting ‘C’ ” n

» Peggy Callan from Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, Ohio, presented “Physician education poster: CDI Week efforts”

» Phyllis Floyd from Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston presented “Physician ICD-10 Training”

» Shelly McBayer from Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in Virginia presented “One-on-one and discus-sion time with physicians”

» Sherri Blanchard from The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus presented “The CDI and nurse practitioner relationship”

» Sheryl Hines from Boulder Community Hospital in

by Penny Richards

Editor’s note: ACDIS Membership Services Director Penny Richards moonlights as a justice of the peace, having officiated more than a dozen weddings, vow renewals, and other ceremonies (visit her website at www.pennyrichardsjp.com). So when the poster session applications began to roll in, her imagination began to stir as well—especially when she read the topic submitted by Dawn Mattison from Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, Pa., “Physician Engagement—not the marrying kind—how to get them to commit.” With permission, Richards employed Mattison and fellow volunteers Chelsea Gilbert, Jamie Dugan, and Robert Gold, MD, to enact a mock wedding between a CDI professional and a physician. The patient, played by Dugan, gave them both away. Below is a copy of the script. (Visit ACDIS’ YouTube site to watch a video of the event at http://youtube/MJgevIj538k.)

I am honored to be here today to conduct the CDI and physician professions’ marriage ceremony.

We are here today to celebrate a professional union. A CDI specialist and a physician stand before us, ready to make a commitment of their joint interest in complete patient documentation.

This kind of commitment is powerful enough to untie the tangled knots of a lousy medical record. It is a commit-ment which kindles our souls with hope for excellent patient outcomes.

Physician engagement

Poster-related skit highlights CDI/physician ‘marriage’ There is no greater joy than for the two teams to join

together to strengthen each other in all their documentation endeavors, to support each other’s effort to eliminate poor handwriting or misuse of abbreviations, and to share with each other the happiness of reduced claim denials.

We hope that the words and spirit of our gathering may be filled with a truth that deepens with the passing years. We hope, too, that the meaning of the commitment these professionals are about to share with one another will spark similar commitment and cooperation between others in the medical community.

(to CDI and Physician …) And now, if you are ready, let us begin.

Who brings CDI and Physician to this special place so that they may be united in the common goal of excellent documentation?

(The patient will respond) I do. I represent the patients whose health and perhaps lives are affected by the relation-ship between these esteemed professions. We must have our health and treatment documented thoroughly and accurately.

The vowsDo you take one another to be your partner, for better

or worse, in sickness more than in health? Do you vow to support each other through the coding and documentation changes we face as we embrace a new coding language in

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I do.Do you promise to be patient and understanding when

the physician gets frustrated because you continually ask to document a diagnosis associated with an abnormal lab value that the physician already clearly documented though the use of up or down arrows?

I do.CDI specialist, do you vow to avoid rolling your eyes,

stomping your feet, and letting out a heavy sigh when the physi-cian documents urosepsis in the health record of a patient who has sepsis secondary to a urinary source even though you’ve done a zillion presentations on this topic and have begged the physician to avoid using urosepsis for the umpteenth time.

I do!Finally, do you promise to never, ever comment on the

physician’s relative weight.I do.

The giving and receiving of the pensToday a pen is a symbol of commitment. As long as you

have ink you can write and answer queries, and send notes of appreciation to one another.

Today, you give and receive these pens as demonstrations of your pledge to unite yourselves as professionals striving for documentation excellence, to work at all times to create a workplace that is harmonious, and to respect each other’s work talents without end.

Please repeat this pledge: “This pen is my gift to you. It symbolizes my commitment to our united effort for excellence in medical documentation.”

The pronouncementAs a collection of words, this simple ceremony would

count for little, were it not for the respect and commitment you have pledged to one another and to your patients. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last a lifetime. Respect one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.

Having witnessed your promises with those who are gath-ered here, and by the authority given to me by the director of the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce that you are united in documentation excellence. You may seal your promises with a hearty handshake. n

ICD-10?We do!Physician, do you promise to describe your patients’ infir-

mities in terminology that meets the needs of International Classification of Disease requirements and, should you not be aware of the specificity that is required, to interact with the CDI professional openly, freely, succinctly, yet completely?

I do.Do you promise to describe your thoughts about your

patients in the history and physical report, in progress notes, consultations, and discharge notes with totality, but not stooping so far as to copy and paste from visit to visit and from day to day?

I do.Physician, do you vow to identify the conclusions of

your initial differential diagnoses to the specific cause that you have identified and the totality of effects that this has had on all other body systems?

I do.CDI specialist, do you promise to be succinct and clear

when you write a query so the physician can easily identify why you are asking the query and what kind of response is desired, rather than confusing the physician with so much background and superfluous information forcing the physician to hide from you and ignore you queries?

Dawn Mattison (left) plays the role of the CDI professional while Jamie

Dugan (center) gives the duo away as the "patient" and Chelsea Gilbert

fills in as the physician during a mock wedding presented during the dedi-

cated poster presentation period on Day 2 of the ACDIS conference.

Photo by Mike Calabro

August 2013 15

ACDIS 2013 Conference Exhibitors

ChartWise representatives explain how their suite of programs can help

CDI professionals capture documentation and track program success.

Editor’s note: Special appreciation goes out to our tremendous 2013 ACDIS exhibitors and sponsors. Every group seemed to get into the spirit of the conference with special giveaways, themes, and after-hour events. Without them, our annual conference would not be possible.

1. 3M Health Information Services 2. Administrative Consultant Service 3. AHIMA 4. Allscripts 5. Baylor Health Care System 6. Berkeley Research Group 7. CDI Search Group 8. ChartWise Medical Systems 9. Contexo Media10. DCBA, Inc.11. Dolbey12. FTI Consulting Health Solutions13. Harris Healthcare Solutions, Business Intelligence14. HCQ Consulting 15. Huff DRG Review Services16. Huron Healthcare17. ICD10monitor18. Kforce19. Kindred Hospitals20. Maxim Health Information Services21. MedPartners CDI22. Midas+ by Xerox23. Morrisey Associates, Inc.24. Navigant Healthcare25. Nuance Communications, Inc.26. Optum27. Peak Health Solutions28. Providence Health & Services29. Quorum Health Resources (QHR)30. Salar, Inc.31. SOAP32. Spi Healthcare33. Streamline Health34. The Claro Group, LLC35. UASI - United Audit Systems, Inc.

CDI Search team members field questions from ACDIS participants and

accept submissions for its popular “win a trip to Hawaii or Alaska” raffle.


A trio of attendees poses with exhibitor Morrisey, which provides

state-of-the-art Web-based technology and consulting services for more

than 800 clients.



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ACDIS 2013 Conference Exhibitors

Navigant Consulting team members Lynne Spryzak, Wendy Whittington,

MD, and Jeannette Fox bask in the glow of the blue light cast from their

booth.

ACDIS attendees fill out their raffle cards at the Kforce booth.


UASI representatives discuss their varied documentation improvement

solutions and consulting services to a crowded audience surrounding

their booth.



MedPartners outdoes itself dressing like the flight crew from Top Gun.


We were happy to have AHIMA exhibit with us for the first time this

year following the joint publication of the ACDIS/AHIMA new physician

query industry guidance released earlier this spring.


The DCBA team enjoys a well-deserved meal after a long day at

the conference.

Photo by Kelli Estes

August 2013 17

For Fun and Learning

Special thanks to the 2013 ACDIS Conference Committee,

including Carol Beehler, Colleen Martin, Sharon Krug, Peggy

Reap, Karen McKaig, Joyce Mosier, Andrea Majewski, Leah

Taylor, Sherri Clark, Jennifer Love, Wendy Clesi, Jennifer Noel,

Lynne Spryszak, and ANCC nurse planner Shelia Bullock.

Do you think they coordinated their outfits ahead of time?


Conference participants look over the schedule to determine which

sessions to attend after the break.


On Day 1 of the ACDIS conference, participants are encouraged to wear

ACDIS colors of purple and orange. The practice illustrates attendees'

pride in the association and their profession, but it also serves as a way

for strangers to instantly identify fellow conference goers, enabling

them to network easily.


Rumors are that the 2013 ACDIS Conference Committee talked ACDIS

Director Brian Murphy into riding a mechanical bull, singing karaoke, and

buying a pair of cowboy boots. We know for certain that at least the last

rumor was true since he wore his new kicks the final day of the conference.

Photo by Sherri Clark

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For Fun and Learning

At center rear, past Minnesota ACDIS Chapter leader Mark LeBlanc

poses for a shot with fellow ICD-10 Boot Camp pre-conference

attendees over lunch.


ACDIS Director Brian Murphy fields questions from the ICD10monitor

team during a series of live broadcasts from this year’s conference.

ICD10monitor featured a number of live interviews throughout both

days of the event.


Whenever things got hectic at the ACDIS bookstore and shop—and

they did get a bit hectic with folks waiting in lines sometimes six people

deep—HCPro product manager Julie McCoy and trade show specialist

Alex Datalo jumped in to help out.


A little thing like a broken ankle isn’t going to stop Melissa Bruchner-

Mehling, MD, of Medina, Minn., from attending ACDIS sessions.


Past ACDIS Advisory Board member James Kennedy, MD, gets into the

Tennessee ACDIS Chapter’s team spirit during the Day 2 trivia game and

networking lunch.


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