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| Section | Weight | Objectives |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare regulations, reimbursement, and documentation requirements related to the IPPS | 12.5% | - CC/MCC, CMI, Medicare contractors, and compliance - IPPS, MS-DRGs, reimbursement, and medical necessity |
| Medical record documentation | 19.17% | - Documentation clarification and compliant physician queries - Documentation requirements and diagnosis or procedure code assignment |
| Communication skills | 9.17% | - CDI and coding roles and interdisciplinary collaboration - Physician education and effective communication |
| Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting | 14.17% | - Coding guidelines, AHA Coding Clinic, HACs, and POA indicators - Principal and secondary diagnosis assignment |
| Anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and medical terminology | 19.17% | - Anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and terminology - Clinical conditions and clinical indicators |
| Professionalism, ethics, and compliance | 9.17% | - Confidentiality, DRG compliance, and ethical CDI practices - Query compliance, DRG creep, and audit risks |
| Healthcare facility CDI program analysis | 8.33% | - CDI productivity, provider response, CMI, and program metrics - Data analysis, forecasting, and performance measurement |
| Impact of reportable diagnoses on quality of care | 8.33% | - Mortality, severity of illness, and risk of mortality - Quality metrics, reporting programs, and financial impact |
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NEW QUESTION # 37
An MS-DRG family is divided into three severity levels: with MCC, with CC, and without CC/MCC.
Assuming all other grouper conditions are identical, which secondary diagnosis category generally results in the highest severity-level assignment?
Answer: D
Explanation:
An MCC-major complication or comorbidity-represents the highest secondary-diagnosis severity category within the standard three-tier MS-DRG hierarchy. CMS describes MCCs as diagnoses with the highest level of severity affecting hospital resource use, CCs as conditions with a moderate level, and non-CC diagnoses as the lowest severity level.
When an MS-DRG family is divided into "with MCC," "with CC," and "without CC/MCC," the presence of a qualifying MCC generally moves the case into the highest severity subdivision, assuming no exclusion or other grouper rule prevents that effect.
This does not mean every MCC always increases payment. Some secondary diagnoses are excluded as MCCs or CCs in particular circumstances because of principal-diagnosis exclusions or DRG-specific logic. CMS's FY 2026 Definitions Manual specifically contains exclusion lists and severity logic for such situations.
CDI specialists should understand MCC/CC logic to interpret working DRGs, but query activity must be driven by clinical accuracy rather than the financial value of a severity level.
CCDS Reference Topics: MS-DRGs; MCC; CC; severity subdivisions; resource utilization; reimbursement compliance.
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NEW QUESTION # 38
A physician documents obesity. A registered dietitian records a BMI of 38.4 kg/m². Which statement is MOST accurate?
Answer: A
Explanation:
BMI is one of the recognized ICD-10-CM non-provider documentation exceptions. A qualified clinician such as a registered dietitian may document the BMI value, while the associated diagnosis-such as overweight or obesity-must be appropriately documented by the responsible provider.
Therefore, the coder may use the documented BMI of 38.4 in conjunction with the provider's obesity diagnosis when reporting requirements are otherwise satisfied.
The BMI itself does not permit the coder or CDI specialist to independently diagnose obesity or determine obesity type. Clinical diagnosis remains the provider's responsibility.
This distinction prevents unnecessary physician queries merely to reproduce objective measurements that have already been reliably documented by another qualified clinician.
Comparable non-provider documentation exceptions include pressure-ulcer stage and certain standardized scales or clinical details under applicable ICD-10-CM guidance.
CDI specialists should know these exceptions because unnecessary queries increase provider burden and can delay coding without improving data quality. Conversely, they should not extend the exception beyond what ICD-10-CM permits.
CCDS Reference Topics: BMI; obesity; non-provider documentation; dietitian documentation; coding exceptions.
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NEW QUESTION # 39
A patient has a history of a type 2 MI 30 days ago. The patient is admitted for chest pain which is determined to be an NSTEMI. Which of the following diagnosis(es) should be coded to identify the working MS-DRG?
Answer: C
Explanation:
The current NSTEMI is the acute condition driving the admission. The prior type 2 myocardial infarction occurred 30 days earlier, placing it beyond the ICD-10-CM four-week acute-MI reporting window. The Official Guidelines state that category I21 codes may continue to be reported while an MI is four weeks old or less; after that period, an aftercare code may be appropriate when continued MI-related care is being provided, or I25.2 may describe an old/healed MI when applicable.
There is an additional reason not to select a "subsequent MI" answer. Category I22 is restricted to qualifying subsequent type 1 or unspecified acute myocardial infarctions occurring within four weeks of the initial qualifying MI. Type 2 MI is classified to I21.A1 rather than I22.
Therefore, the previous type 2 MI does not support selection of a subsequent-MI option in this 30-day scenario. The active NSTEMI is the diagnosis relevant to the working MS-DRG. "Initial encounter" in answer B is exam terminology rather than an ICD-10-CM seventh-character designation for MI, but B is clearly the intended correct choice.
CCDS Reference Topics: Official Guidelines-acute myocardial infarction; working MS-DRG; circulatory disorders.
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NEW QUESTION # 40
A patient with an indwelling central venous catheter develops fever and positive blood cultures for Staphylococcus aureus. The physician documents "bacteremia" but does not establish whether the catheter caused the infection. Which action is MOST appropriate?
Answer: A
Explanation:
The record supports a cause-and-effect clarification query. The presence of an indwelling central line together with bacteremia does not automatically establish a catheter-related bloodstream infection or device complication.
The provider must determine whether the infection is related to the catheter, another source, or an undetermined cause when the classification requires clinical linkage. CDI should present the catheter history, onset of fever, culture results, line assessment, treatment, line removal or exchange if applicable, and other relevant findings without directing the provider toward a device-related complication.
A positive blood culture likewise does not independently establish sepsis. Bacteremia and sepsis are distinct concepts; the provider must make the systemic infection diagnosis using the entire clinical picture.
Automatically assigning a complication merely because a device is present risks inaccurate reporting of healthcare-associated complications and may affect quality metrics, reimbursement, and public data.
Current ACDIS/AHIMA guidance emphasizes that queries should arise from patient-specific clinical information and preserve provider clinical judgment rather than presuming causal relationships.
CCDS Reference Topics: Device-related infections; cause-and-effect relationships; bacteremia; clinical indicators; compliant query construction.
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NEW QUESTION # 41
A patient underwent open small bowel resection with anastomosis for colon cancer. The physician notes,
"Post-op ileus, awaiting return of bowel function." Which of the following actions should a CDI specialist take FIRST?
Answer: C
Explanation:
The phrase "post-op ileus" establishes that the ileus occurred after surgery, but it does not necessarily establish that the ileus represents a reportable surgical complication rather than an expected transient consequence of abdominal surgery. The relationship and clinical significance therefore require clarification.
ICD-10-CM guidance on complications of care states that not every condition occurring during or following surgery is automatically classified as a complication. Code assignment depends on provider documentation establishing the relationship between the condition and the care or procedure, and the documentation must support clinical significance. When that relationship is unclear, the provider should be queried.
Assigning a complication code immediately would therefore be premature. Likewise, simply coding postoperative ileus without resolving whether it represents expected postoperative physiology or a clinically significant complication could misrepresent the episode.
Escalation to a physician advisor or CDI manager is unnecessary as the first action because this is a standard documentation-clarification issue that can be addressed directly through a compliant provider query.
CCDS Reference Topics: Official Guidelines-complications of care; medical record documentation; compliant provider clarification.
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NEW QUESTION # 42
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