Inpatient CDI Physician Advisor

Catholic Health•Melville, NY

3d•$280,000 - $350,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Inpatient CDI Physician Advisor will serve as a liaison and champion with the medical staff for complete and accurate documentation to support accurate reflection of patient acuity, severity of illness, risk of mortality, and quality of care. The Physician Advisor will act as a liaison between the Inpatient CDI/Coding teams and medical providers. The Physician Advisor will support the organizational initiatives of accurate quality outcomes and the proper reflection of the high quality of care as evaluated through severity adjusted quality measures. This is a hybrid position and will require time on site each week.

Requirements

Extensive clinical knowledge; at least 7 years as a practicing, licensed physician in the acute care setting
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with organizational leadership and executives
Ability and willingness to educate, counsel and advise peers
Demonstrates approachability and maintaining the respect of peers
Ability to strategize, plan and implement change
Self-motivated with ability to work independently and as part of a team
Organized with attention to detail
Excellent communication, and problem-solving skills
Ability to interpret data and outcome metrics
Proficient with technology and programs integral to clinical documentation
Demonstrates understanding of CHS-LI’s culture and organizational goals
Willingness to gain a working knowledge of coding rules and regulations
Has genuine interest in CDI and an understanding of its impact on patient care, quality outcomes, and health system performance

Responsibilities

Serve as a leader in the education and outreach with the medical staff to build understanding and support for the CDI program and how it benefits the medical staff
Partner with CDI Directors, CDI Assistant Directors, and CDI Educators in the development, coordination, and presentation of provider education to improve the accuracy of documentation and the quality of patient care reported, severity of illness, risk of mortality, medical necessity and other documentation related outcomes
Share key clinical documentation concepts and their importance for the hospitals and individual providers
Explaining why a query was placed, and highlighting the impact on key indicators such as expected mortality and expected length of stay
Hold one-on-one meetings with physicians to address areas of opportunity and respond to questions, providing feedback and education for medical staff on opportunities for documentation improvement
Tailor education content and messaging to specific provider groups and specialties
Include key CDI metrics and actionable data in provider education sessions to drive behavior change and gain buy in
Serve as liaison between providers and the CDI/Coding teams to address areas of opportunity and questions
Meet regularly with CDI System Director, CDI Directors, CDI Assistant Directors, CDI Educators, and Clinical Documentation Specialists (CDS) staff to understand current documentation opportunities and to integrate those opportunities into outreach and education efforts with the medical staff
Partner with CDI Directors, CDI Assistant Directors, and CDI Educators to provide ongoing clinical education to Inpatient CDS and coding staff to assist in the ongoing growth of the team
Review cases escalated by Inpatient CDI and Coding teams
Participate in unanswered query escalation process by following up with physicians electronically and in-person to assist in obtaining query responses
Serve as a subject matter expert and resource on interpretation and application of clinical practice and documentation strategies
Collaborate with providers and medical staff leadership to create consistent definitions and documentation around complex conditions, as needed
Regularly review key process and outcomes metrics related to the CDI Program
Review key process metrics: provider response rates, agree rates, response times, query trends, among others
Develop action plans for non-responsive providers or providers with high disagreement rates or response times
Review key outcomes metrics: outcomes of escalated cases, medical and surgical comorbidity rates, capture rates for DRG triplets and pairs, most appropriate principal diagnosis selection trends, acuity for expired patients or patients discharged to hospice, expected mortality rate, observed to expected mortality ratio, among others
Collaborate with CDI Program leadership in meeting with CMOs, Chairs, and Program Directors to provide updates on the CDI program, impact on quality outcome data, and strategies for ongoing improvement
Develop and participate in recognition process for providers that have made significant positive impacts to the program
Support organizational quality goals and objectives through CDI improvements