Pass the AHIMA Documentation Integrity Practitioner (CDI) CDIP Questions and answers with CertsForce

The first step the CDI director should take is to gather data on the incidence of inaccurate record documentation because it is important to establish the baseline and scope of the problem, as well as to identify the potential causes and consequences of over-using electronic copy and paste. Data collection can help to measure the frequency, severity, and impact of documentation errors, such as inconsistencies, redundancies, contradictions, or omissions. Data collection can also help to determine the best methods and tools for conducting the documentation integrity project, such as audits, surveys, interviews, or software applications. (CDIP Exam Preparation Guide1)

References:

CDIP Exam Content Outline2

CDIP Exam Preparation Guide1

An Excludes 2 note in ICD-10-CM indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes 2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together to completely describe the condition. For example, under code R05 Cough, there is an Excludes 2 note for whooping cough (A37.-). This means that a patient can have both a cough and whooping cough at the same time, and both codes can be used together to capture the full clinical picture.

References:

CDIP® Exam Content Outline (https://www.ahima.org/media/1z0x0x1a/cdip-exam-content-outline.pdf)

ICD-10-CM Features | Diagnosis Coding: Using the ICD-10-CM1

Aspiration pneumonia is a type of pneumonia that occurs when food, saliva, liquids, or vomit is breathed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs, causing an infection or inflammation. Aspiration pneumonia is more likely to occur in people who have difficulty swallowing, such as those with a history of CVA2. In this case, the patient has a history of CVA and difficulty swallowing, and presents with nausea and vomiting, which are risk factors for aspiration. The CXR reveals a right lower lobe infiltrate, which is a common finding in aspiration pneumonia3. The physician documents pneumonia as the diagnosis, but does not specify the type or cause. Therefore, clarification is needed to determine if aspiration pneumonia is clinically indicated, as it would affect the coding and reimbursement of the case. Aspiration pneumonia is coded as ICD-10-CM code J69.x Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids, with a fourth digit required to specify the inhaled substance4.

References:

CDI Week 2020 Q&A: CDI and key performance indicators1

Mayo Clinic: Aspiration pneumonia2

Medscape: Aspiration Pneumonia3

ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code J69.x: Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids4

According to the AHIMA CDIP Exam Preparation Guide, a query is a communication tool or process used to clarify documentation in the health record for documentation integrity and accurate code assignment1. A query should be clear, concise, and consistent, and should include relevant clinical indicators that support the query1. A query should also provide multiple choice answer options that are supported by clinical indicators and include a non-leading query statement2. In this case, the patient has a large right lung pleural effusion related to lung cancer stage II, which is documented multiple times. However, the documentation does not specify whether the pleural effusion is malignant or not. A malignant pleural effusion is a condition where cancer cells spread to the pleural space and cause fluid accumulation3. A malignant pleural effusion is a major complication or comorbidity (MCC) that affects the severity of illness (SOI) and risk of mortality (ROM) of the patient, as well as the reimbursement and quality scores of the hospital4. Therefore, a post discharge query opportunity should be sent to the physician to clarify whether the pleural effusion is malignant or not, based on the clinical indicators such as chest x-ray, thoracentesis, and fluid analysis. The query should provide answer options such as malignant pleural effusion, non-malignant pleural effusion, unable to determine, or other. The other options are not correct because they either do not affect the SOI/ROM of the patient (A and C), or they do not address the specificity of the diagnosis (D). References:

CDIP Exam Preparation Guide - AHIMA

Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice (2019 Update) - AHIMA

Malignant Pleural Effusion: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Q&A: Coding for malignant pleural effusions | ACDIS

A strategy that should be part of a project aimed at improving the unacceptable documentation behaviors of some physicians is to add a physician advisor/champion to the CDI team. A physician advisor/champion is a physician leader who supports and advocates for the CDI program, educates and mentors other physicians on documentation best practices, resolves conflicts and barriers, and provides feedback and recognition to physicians who improve their documentation. A physician advisor/champion can help change the documentation behaviors of some physicians by using peer influence, credibility, and authority to motivate them to comply with the CDI program goals and standards. A physician advisor/champion can also help bridge the gap between the CDI team and the physicians, and foster a culture of collaboration and quality improvement 23.

References: 1: AHIMA CDIP Exam Prep, Fourth Edition, p. 136 4 2: The Role of Physician Advisors in Clinical Documentation Improvement Programs 5 3: Physician Advisor: The Key to Clinical Documentation Improvement Success

According to the ICD-10-PCS Reference Manual 2023, the insertion of a dialysis catheter into the right internal jugular vein with the tip ending in the cavoatrial junction is coded as follows1:

The first character 0 indicates the Medical and Surgical section.

The second character 5 indicates the Extracorporeal or Systemic Assistance and Performance root operation, which is defined as "Putting in or on a device that completely takes over a body function by extracorporeal means"1.

The third character H indicates the Central Vein body system, which includes the internal jugular vein1.

The fourth character M indicates the Infusion Device device value, which is defined as "A device that is inserted into a body part to deliver fluids or other substances to a body part or into the circulation"1.

The fifth character 3 indicates the Right Internal Jugular Vein body part value, which is the specific site of the procedure1.

The sixth character 3 indicates the Percutaneous approach, which is defined as "Entry, by puncture or minor incision, of instrumentation through the skin or mucous membrane and any other body layers necessary to reach and visualize the site of the procedure"1.

The seventh character Z indicates No Qualifier, which means there is no additional information necessary to complete the code1.

Therefore, the correct coding for insertion of a dialysis catheter into the right internal jugular vein with the tip ending in the cavoatrial junction is 05HM33Z.

References:

ICD-10-PCS Reference Manual 20231

A query should be generated to ask the physician for the POA indicator of the fall because the documentation is unclear whether the fall was present at the time of inpatient admission or not. The POA indicator is used to identify conditions that are present or not present at the time of admission, and has payment implications for certain hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). According to CMS, a fall resulting in trauma is one of the HACs that will not be paid at a higher rate if it is not present on admission. Therefore, it is important to clarify the POA indicator of the fall to ensure accurate coding and reimbursement. A query should be non-leading, concise, clear, relevant, and consistent with CDI standards and guidelines.

References:

CDIP® Exam Content Outline (https://www.ahima.org/media/1z0x0x1a/cdip-exam-content-outline.pdf)

Coding | CMS1

Present on Admission Indicators - Novitas Solutions2

According to AHIMA, clinical documentation is at the core of every patient encounter and it must be meaningful to accurately reflect the patient’s disease burden and scope of services provided. In order to be meaningful, the documentation must be clear, consistent, complete, precise, reliable, timely, and legible1. Reliability is one of the criteria for clinical documentation that means the content of the record is trustworthy, safe, and yielding the same result when repeated1. Reliability ensures that the documentation is consistent with the clinical evidence and reasoning, and that it can be verified by other sources or methods. Reliability also implies that the documentation is free from errors, omissions, contradictions, or ambiguities that could compromise its validity or usefulness1.

References:

Clinical Documentation Integrity Education & Training | AHIMA1