Clinical documentation in general is becoming more accurate, complete, and useful, thanks in no small part to the adoption of ICD-10 and its regular updates. The streamlined process facilitates better communication among the healthcare team as well as making it easier to use the data to uncover trends in the larger population. “ICD-10 was made for data collection," Reiter says. "We can look at similar cases—patient A, who was treated one way, and patient B whose treatment was somewhat different—and ask, how did their length of stay compare, How did the treatment work on those patients, Is there something we could do better is the basis of providing patients in the United States Healthcare

  Evaluating the effectiveness of CDI in terms of financial impact is fairly objective and straightforward. But with the move toward payment for performance, its effect on quality measurements and ratings has become much more important. “The important thing for leadership within a CDI program is to communicate its continued value, because we still are working, overall, within a fee for service structure with a quality attachment to it.