Selecting the IDEAL CDI physician advisor.

PHYSICIANS ARE INCREASINGLY being utilized as advisors in various aspects of healthcare delivery. These include utilization review, quality resource management, and clinical documentation improvement. An effective strategy must be used to develop a physician advisor program in the area of clinical documentation, since accurate information has risen in importance due to increased record audits, quality measures, and use of data analysis to improve care. The success of the physician advisor program hinges upon the definition of the advisor’s role(s), the selection of the proper individuals, and the training process. Effective Physician Advisors Hold Influence Central to this infrastructure, the physician advisor serves as a liaison between the clinical documentation improvement (CDI) team, which includes hospital coders, clinical documentation specialists (CDS), and the medical staff. The advisor is pivotal in leveraging his or her clinical position to exemplify the marriage of care delivery with specificity in documentation. This is done through effective communication and education of the respective parties. The advisor will enhance other physicians’ clinical understanding regarding such issues as Selecting the IDEAL CDI Physician Advisor