Education:  Bachelor's of Nursing, required; Master’s Degree in Nursing or Management preferred.

Licenses/Certifications: 

• Current State of Texas license or temporary/compact license to practice professional nursing

• One of the following is required:

  • Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) from the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists

  • Certified Clinical Documentation Integrity Professional (CDIP) from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)

  • Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)

Experience / Knowledge / Skills:

• Three (3) years of Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) experience required

• Approved AHIMA ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer preferred

• Previous CDIS auditing, denial and Vizient experience preferred

• Strong computer proficiency including working knowledge of MS Office- Word, Excel and Outlook and 3M Coding and Reimbursement software; experience with Epic EMR preferred

• Excellent communication, analytical and problem-solving skills are essential

• Strong organizational skills and must be detail oriented

• Highly analytical with strong risk assessment, impact analysis and problem- solving skills

• Highly self-motivated, yet demonstrate ability to be a team player and take direction

• Flexible and able to multi-task and prioritize daily workload, performing concurrent chart reviews as needed

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Completes comprehensive, clinical secondary reviews of targeted patient populations to include cases with DRG and/or code discrepancies; mortality reviews to ensure documentation supports risk of mortality; hospital acquired conditions (HACs), patient safety indicators (PSIs) or other top priority diagnoses as identified for potential missed opportunities to clarify documentation or clinically validate a diagnosis.

• Analyzes and interprets clinical data to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and/or opportunities for improvement in the clinical documentation and queries the provider using concurrent query process following ACDIS/AHIMA Guidelines for a Compliant Query Practice.

• Acts as a liaison between the Coding Department and Clinical Documentation Integrity to reconcile discrepancies in code and/or DRG assignment.

• Communicates findings of secondary reviews to Manager.

• Collaborates with CDI Educator/Auditor when educational needs are identified from second level reviews.

• Researches, investigates and remains up to date on both clinical and coding guidelines in quarterly Coding Clinics as they relate to physician documentation improvement needed, in an ICD-10 coding environment.

• Assists in overall quality, timeliness and completeness of the quality health record to ensure appropriate data, provider communication, and quality outcomes. Serves as a resource for appropriate clinical documentation.

• Documents and tracks second level reviews and results; shares this information with Manager.

• Collaborates with physicians and/or other clinicians to enhance understanding of the CDI program goals; ensures the medical record can be coded accurately in order to accurately reflect patient severity of illness and risk of mortality.

• Ensures safe care to patients, staff and visitors; adheres to all Memorial Hermann policies, procedures, and standards within budgetary specifications including time management, supply management, productivity and quality of service.

• Promotes individual professional growth and development by meeting requirements for mandatory/continuing education and skills competency; supports department-based goals which contribute to the success of the organization; serves as a resource to less experienced staff.

• Demonstrates commitment to caring for every member of our community by creating compassionate and personalized experiences. Models Memorial Hermann’s service standards of providing safe, caring, personalized and efficient experiences to patients and our workforce.

• Other duties as assigned.