Clinical Documentation Audit Specialist

Under the direction of the Senior Director of Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) and CDI Manager, the CDI Audit Specialist provides expert level CDI reviews of targeted medical records throughout the enterprise to assist management in ensuring accurate quality data reporting and providing educational feedback to CDI managers. This position will support organizational goals by identifying opportunities to partner with providers to more accurately capture patients' clinical pictures to reflect Jefferson's superior patient care, participating in enterprise-wide performance improvement efforts, and demonstrating a commitment to teamwork and cooperation.
Responsibilities:
1. Interacts with vistiors, co workers, staff, and others consistent with Jefferson's core values.
2. Accurately reviews designated medical records for completeness in documentation of diagnostic and procedural information in compliance with Center for Medicare Services (CMS), Department of Health regulatory, and financial requirements. Provides an expert level review of targeted medical records to ensure accurate data capture of patient diagnoses and procedures.
3. Performs second level reviews on designated records (i.e. mortality, Patient Safety Indicator reviews, sepsis, etc.) to ensure accurate quality reporting and serves as department liaison for quality related meetings.
4. Prepares well written and compliant queries to communicate with physicians and other providers regarding clarifying conflicting, missing, or incomplete documentation in the medical record.
5. Supports revenue cycle initiatives in managing the load of cases that are discharged but not final billed by supporting timely CDI query follow-up in accordance with query escalation process.
6. Coordinates with management to utilize expert level CDI skills to conduct quarterly quality record review audits of CDI specialists across the enterprise.
7. Assists with enterprise-wide documentation improvement quality initiatives. Evaluates opportunities for CDI education and/or CDI workflow and process improvements.
8. Participates on hospital committees to conduct record review studies, as necessary, to facilitate improvement in Clinical Documentation processes to ensure overall quality, completeness, and compliance.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Proficiencies):
Prior exposure to quality record reviews (i.e. Patient safety indicators, mortality) preferred. Strong working knowledge and experience in clinical record reviews, 3M encoder coding systems, Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) system, and Epic EHR system required. Expert level working knowledge of ICD-10 diagnosis and procedural coding conventions and severity of illness/risk of mortality required. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal) with previous experience working collaboratively within teams required. Ability to work remotely and manage participation in multiple committees. Prior data analytic skills and understanding case mix index and DRG/all patient refined (APR) diagnosis related group systems. Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office; Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Required Experience, Education, Certification(s), License(s)
Minimum one year experience required as a CDI specialist. Minimum of two years hands-on clinical experience either obtained through inpatient clinical nursing (i.e. RN, BSN), medical school, or residency or 5 years acute care inpatient medical coding. Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) or Clinical Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP) certifications required or within six months of eligibility.
Preferred Experience, Education, Degree, Certification(s), License(s)
BSN, PA or medical graduate degree preferred. Experience with hospital acquired conditions, patient safety indicators, and risk adjustment methodology (specifically Vizient, Elixhauser, or Hierarchical Condition Category) preferred. Prior presentation and educational training skills preferred. Successful completion of Vizient Risk Adjustment Training.
Jefferson Health delivers state of the art healthcare services to patients throughout the Delaware Valley and southern New Jersey. Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University) provides more than 8,400 students from nearly 40 states and 40 countries with 21st century professional education. Combined, we have over 30,000 employees.
Jefferson Health, with 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence) and 40+ outpatient and urgent care locations, offers a broad range of primary and complex, highly specialized care that touches the lives of more than four million patients annually. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Thomas Jefferson University Hospital among the nation’s best in eight specialties. Jefferson Health also includes the NCI designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center; it is one of only 70 such centers in the nation.
Thomas Jefferson University has ten colleges and three schools that offer more than 160 undergraduate and graduate programs. Our University is dedicated to inter-professional and transdisciplinary approaches to learning that offer a vibrant and expandable platform for professional education. Through this unique model, we are preparing our students for current and yet to be imagined careers.
As an employer, Jefferson maintains a commitment to provide equal access to employment. Jefferson values diversity and encourages applications from women, members of minority groups, LGBTQ individuals, disabled individuals, and veterans.