By Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP
Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) 2025 is in the books. This was one of the best ACDIS conferences I have attended. Kudos to the conference committee for their selections. The quality of the presentations demonstrates how the Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) profession has grown. It is great to see hospital leadership including those who rose through the ranks as former coders or CDIS. Here are some of my key takeaways from the conference.
Denials Management: A Team Sport
There were many valuable presentations on denials management and the importance of including CDI professionals. I hope attendees are inspired to advocate for inclusion in denials management efforts. Denials management is a team sport that requires coordination among all clinical revenue departments. Documentation and coding practices contribute to medical necessity denials in addition to those that can result in a lower weight Diagnosis Related Group (DRG).
Robin Sewell, CDIP, CCS, CIC, CPC, CHTS-PW, and I shared our experience with DRG downgrades secondary to payors deeming a query as non-compliant. Many hospitals are unfamiliar with this new payor tactic. My favorite presentation of the conference was, “Clinical Legal Implications of Payor Documentation Integrity Audits,” by Dr. R Kendall Smith, Jr. and Richelle Marting. What made this presentation stand out was Richelle’s perspective as an attorney and Director of Managed Care Contracting. We often tell hospitals to address issues like clinical validation in their payor contracts, but Richelle provided the “how” that we’ve been missing.
Quality, Access, and the Expanding Role of CDI
Quality was a hot topic as usual. The sessions were a great reminder that not all hospitals are staffed to support identifying diagnoses that risk-adjust quality measures or exclusions. Smaller hospitals may not have access to the same resources as large health systems or academic medical centers and may be at the beginning of their foray into quality. Many of these presentations reaffirmed my belief that at some point, CDI may have subspecialities, like a quality focus because it is difficult for CDI professionals to balance all they are asked to do, “while they are in the record.”
I was fortunate to present with Penny Jefferson during the conference. As members of the ACDIS regulatory committee, Penny is the chair, we started exploring issues associated with patient admit type and how it impacts performance on quality measures. An ACDIS survey revealed the extent of the knowledge gap. It also revealed that many were unaware of regulations associated with determining admit type. Admit type is defined by the National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC). This project has become a huge initiative for Penny and UC Davis. Penny is working with a government agencies to ensure parity among hospitals. These efforts prove what I have known all along, CDI professionals are problem solvers. No wonder we keep getting more and more added to our plates!
Balancing Innovation with Insights: Why Technology Alone Isn’t Enough in CDI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was everywhere at the conference, from exhibitor booths to breakout presentations on optimizing CDI workflows. As staffing challenges persist across the industry, technology is rapidly advancing to fill gaps in efficiency and capacity. Many larger CDI teams now include dedicated educators and data analysts, and we may soon see informatics professionals formally integrated into CDI structures. It’s encouraging to see CDI becoming so profoundly connected to the revenue cycle, with more tools than ever to support accuracy and impact.
But as we accelerate toward automation, we must not lose sight of the human element. Critical thinking, professional judgment, and experience remain at the core of compliant, adequate documentation. Technology is only as powerful as the people who use it. That’s why forums for professional growth are so vital, especially for those newer to CDI or working remotely at smaller hospitals. Many of us learned this work through in-person collaboration and hallway conversations. We owe it to the next generation to create space for that kind of mentorship, even in virtual settings. I’m so lucky that Brundage Groups allows me to support our profession.
Stay Informed. Stay Ahead.
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