CDI Committee – Member Articles


Building a Culture of Documentation: CDI Education in Pediatric Training Programs
January 2026 | Samantha Dallefeld, MD, ACPA-C & Jennifer Goodrich, MD, ACPA-C

Admit Types Demystified: Understanding Definitions, Governance, and Their Impact On Healthcare Metrics
August 2025 | Penny Jefferson MSN, RN, ACPA-C

Pneumonia Documentation Information for the Physician Advisor
August 2025 | Renee P. McGraw, MD FACOG

Risk Adjustment: A Review
August 2025 | Jennifer Brettler, DO, FACP

Expanding CDI Beyond the Inpatient Setting: Navigating Outpatient CDI Challenges and Opportunities
March 2025 | Renee P. McGraw, MD FACOG

Clarifying Confusion Around Type 2 NSTEMI
February 2025 | Robert Oubre, MD

Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Finalized Rule Issues for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025: CDI Highlights
December 2024 | Adriane Martin DO, FACOS, ACAP-C, CCDS

Outpatient Documentation Problems Addressed and Time
October 2024 | Mercedes K C Dullum MD, FACS, FACC

Embracing the 2023 Hospital or Observation E/M Guidelines: A Gift to Physicians
October 2024 | Eleanor Kurtz Fertig, MD, CCDS, ACPA-C

General Observations on Documentation Plus New “Encounter for Sepsis Aftercare” Code
August 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, ACPA-C

Don’t Let Denials Get to You
August 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, ACPA-C

Did the Patient Suffer an “Adverse Effect” or a “Poisoning,” and Why Does it Matter?
June 2024 | Annie Akkara, MD, CDIP, ACPA-C

Warding Off Clinical Validation Denials with Improved Documentation
May 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, ACPA-C

Why Pneumonia is a Common DRG Downgrade Condition
April 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, ACPA-C

If You Aspire to Be a Five-Star Organization, Focus on COLLABORATION AND ENGAGEMENT
April 2024 | Sareem Wani, MD

Adapting Education to the Inpatient Setting
April 2024 | Heather Briggs, MD, PhD, FACP & Amanda Brill, MSN, ACNP-BC

Can Physician Advisors Document Diagnoses in the Medical Record?
February 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Artificial Intelligence Documentation Prompts Must be Compliant, Too 
January 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

A Tool to Help Level Set Evaluation and Management (E/M) Levels of Service
January 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

“Ask Dr. Remer:” Bridging the Gap Between Coders and Clinicians 
January 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Lessons to Learn from OIG HCC Reviews 
January 2024 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Solutions for Long-Distance and End-of-Life Dementia Care 
December 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

A Tool to Help Set Evaluation and Management (E&M) Levels of Service 
November 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Utilizing a Collaborative Approach to Address the Complexities of Patient Safety Indicators
November 2023 | Sri V Suravarapu, MD, MPH & Dana Jones BSN, RN, CCDS

How Do We Code Outpatient Surgeries-Turned-Hospitalizations? 
October 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Inpatient or Outpatient Surgery: Exclusive Two-Part Series 
October 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Coding Clinic Raises Questions About Uncertain Behavior 
October 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

The Role of Clinical Documentation Integrity in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program as it Relates to Same-Day Acute Care Readmissions and the 3-Day Payment Window
October 2023 | Waldo Herrera, MD, MBA, MSc, FACP, SFHM

Must We Wait for the Pathology to Code a Malignancy?
September 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

The Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements 2023: A Blueprint for Sepsis Management 
September 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Fixing Procedures Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis Grouping Logic in the 2024 IPPS Final Rule 
August 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Why Words Really Do Matter in Medicine 
August 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Revisiting COVID-19 Screening after PHE Ends 
July 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Making Trauma Documentation a Little Less Traumatic 
June 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Updates from ACDIS Conference Worth Sharing 
June 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Using ICD-10-CM R Codes When Indicated
June 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Fighting Back Against Medicare Advantage SNF Denials
June 2023 | Ben Kartchner, MD

Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia and Hypertension…Metabolic Syndrome check! : Diagnosing Metabolic Syndrome
June 2023 | Rima R. Mercado, MD

Fighting Back Against Medicare Advantage SNF Denials: Part II 
May 2023 | Ben Kartchner, MD

Fighting Back Against Medicare Advantage SNF Denials: Part I 
May 2023 | Ben Kartchner, MD

Training the Trainees in the Art of Clinical Documentation - Making the Case for “Catching Them Young”
May 2023 | Rupesh Prasad, MD, CPE, FACP & Heather Briggs, MD, PHD, FACP, CCDS

Why is the Capture and Clinical Documentation of Malnutrition So Important?
April 2023 | Terry Bowman McLendon, MD, FACP

Using an Acute ICD-10-CM Code Instead of “History of” Can Lead to OIG Peril
April 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Is it the PAs Role to Teach the Experts? 
March 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Getting Your Surgeons to Document Complications Appropriately
February 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Six Steps to Prevent Readmission Denials 
February 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

SDoH: At the Intersection of Lifestyle and Patient Care 
February 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

How to Make the EHR More Effective 
January 2023 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Breaking the Silos: Role of CDI in Reporting Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs)
January 2023 | Neelima Divakaran, MD, MBBS

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Reimbursement and Documentation Challenge
January 2023 | Waldo Herrera, MD, MBA, MSc, FACP, SFHM

An Introduction to Physician Advisors to the Industry Standard for Compliant Query Composition
November 2022 | Erica E. Remer, MD, CCDS

You’ll Catch Your Death of Cold?
November 2022 | Melinda Battaile, MD, FHM, MMCI

Coding Update for Acidosis Introduced 
October 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

ACDIS/AHIMA Practice Brief: A Gold Mine for Best Practices 
October 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Are Leading Queries Prohibited by Law or Lore? 
October 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Hand Me That (Occam’s) Razor, Would You? One Application of the Scientific Law of Parsimony Can Help Assure That Your Revenue Accounts for the Actual Health of Your Population
October 2022 | Mark S. Schnitzer, MD, FACHE

Surgery Documentation Specificity Key to Proper Coding 
September 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Clinical Validation: The Physician Advisor’s Role
September 2022 | Ritu Prasad, MD

Hospital Acquired Condition 14 (HAC 14)
August 2022 | Kristin Wallick, MD, FCCP

Lessons from the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) Annual Conference
August 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Introducing Functional Quadriplegia
August 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Physician Advisors Guide to the 2023 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule 
August 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Understanding Why Clinical Validation Is a Process 
August 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Hospital Acquired Condition 14 (HAC 14) 
August 2022 | Kristin Wallick, MD, FCCP

Patient Safety Indicator 15 (PSI 15): Abdominopelvic Accidental Puncture or Laceration Rate
June 2022 | Timothy Brundage, MD, CCDS

Is Encephalopathy Making Your Head Hurt? Documentation Tips for the Physician Advisor
May 2022 | Ben Kartchner, MD

Surgery Documentation Specificity Key to Proper Coding
April 2022 | Erica E. Remer, MD, FACEP, CCDS

Can a Patient with Sepsis Be Discharged from the ED?
March 2022 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

What to do in 2022?
January 2022 | Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, SFHM, CCS, CCDS

Putting the Physician into Physician Advisor Using CDI
December 2021 | Ben Kartchner, MD

Returning to In-Person Conferences
November 2021 | Erica E. Remer, MD, CCDS

Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2021: Updates Are In
October 2021 | Erica E. Remer, MD, CCDS

Use of Stigmatizing Language in Patient Medical Records by Healthcare Providers
September 2021 | Erica E. Remer, MD, FACEP, CCDS

Clinical Documentation and Coding of Skin Injury
September 2021 | Melinda Battaile, MD, FHM, MMCI, CCDS

Reviewing the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
August 2021 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Ten Points to Improve Clinical Documentation with the ED as a Model 
August 2021 | Erica E. Remer, MD, CCDS

COVID-19 and Pneumonia: Help Get the Documentation Right
June 2021 | Erica E. Remer, MD, CCDS

CDI PA Pointers June 2021 
June 2021 | Provided by the Members of the ACPA Clinical Documentation Integrity Committee

Training the Trainees in the Art of Clinical Documentation - Making the Case for “Catching Them Young” 
May 2021 | Rupesh Prasad, MD, CPE, FACP, FABQUARP & Heather Briggs, MD, PHD, FACP, CCDS

Improving Efficiency Using the EHR
February 2021 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

One Code Alone is Inadequate to Tell the COVID-19 Sequela Story
December 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

We Are All One Exposure Away from Contracting COVID-19
November 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

SEP-1 and Sepsis-3 Are Not Incompatible
October 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

It’s No Accident That the OIG is Going After Acute CVA
October 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

New COVID-19 Codes Coming
September 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

More COVID-19 Questions Answered
August 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

A Novel Approach to Advance Practice Provider Documentation Engagement
August 2020 | Debra Anoff MD, FACP, FHM & Amanda Brill, MSN, ACNP-BC

ICD-10 Codes for Lactic Acidosis
July 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

The OIG is Coming for your Malnutrition MCCs
July 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Functional Quadriplegia: A Code for a Real Condition
July 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Racial and Ethnic Inequalities During COVID-19 Can’t Be Ignored
June 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

A Question a Day will Keep the Queries Away: Acute Blood Loss Anemia
June 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Querying when a Pending COVID-19 Test Returns Results
June 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

10 Tips And Pointers for Physician Advisors About Documentation of Covid-19
June 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

COVID-19 and Long-Term Care: A Troubling Combination
May 2020 | Ben Kartchner, MD

COVID-19 Coding Dilemma: Z20.828 and Z03.818
May 2020 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

I’m in a New York State of Sepsis
December 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Caution: “Consensus”
December 2019 | Timothy Brundage, MD, CCDS

HCCs for the Holidays
December 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

New CC and MCC Designation Technology Explained by CMS
October 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Does using SIRS to diagnose sepsis improve mortality?
September 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Complete Diagnosis Set and Patient as a Whole
August 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS

Expand the Role of the Physician Advisor to Break Down Silos
May 2019 | Timothy Brundage, MD, CCDS 

Challenges of Educating Doctors on Documentation
March 2019 | Erica Remer, MD, CCDS