CDEO study plan
CDEO · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Core documentation review
Map the required components of a compliant outpatient encounter note (chief complaint, HPI elements, ROS, PFSH, exam, MDM, medical necessity statement) into a one-page reference sheet
Identify missing or contradictory documentation elements in 12 de-identified note excerpts and label each gap by type
Draft a 15-item documentation review checklist scored on a 0-2 scale
Distinguish a documentation deficiency from a coding error using 8 paired examples
Your checkpoint
Completed 15-item audit checklist plus a scored review of 12 notes with written rationale for each finding
Core documentation review & Outpatient coding and compliance
Apply current E/M level-selection rules to 15 written scenarios and justify each level with the specific MDM or time element used
Compare a problem-oriented MDM table against a time-based selection to determine when each applies
Write 5 compliant physician queries using the compliant-query format (evidence, clinical indicator, multiple-choice options)
Classify 10 documentation samples as supporting, not supporting, or ambiguous for medical necessity
Your checkpoint
E/M worksheet scoring 15 scenarios with correct level and cited rationale, plus 5 drafted queries
Outpatient coding and compliance
Assign ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes to 20 documentation vignettes and apply official sequencing and combination-code rules
Select CPT procedure codes for 10 vignettes and apply modifier -25, -59, and -X{EPSU} only where documentation supports them
Evaluate 8 code pairs against NCCI edit logic and state whether a modifier override is defensible
Identify the four elements of a compliance program and match each to an outpatient audit activity
Your checkpoint
Coding and compliance workbook: 20 diagnosis assignments, 10 procedure assignments, and 8 NCCI determinations with written justification
Core documentation review & Outpatient coding and compliance
Perform a full end-to-end chart review on 8 records combining documentation standards, code assignment, and medical necessity
Write a one-page audit findings summary separating documentation risk from coding risk
Rank the top 3 recurring error patterns found across weeks 1-4 and quantify each as a percentage of reviewed records
Build a personal error log that maps each miss to the domain competency it tests
Your checkpoint
8-record integrated audit file with findings summary and error-pattern frequency table
Risk adjustment and quality reporting
Map 25 documented chronic conditions to their corresponding risk-adjustment categories and identify which are capture-eligible
Evaluate 12 records against MEAT criteria (monitor, evaluate, assess, treat) and flag conditions that fail documentation capture
Calculate a simplified risk score from a supplied condition list and explain how incremental additions change the total
Distinguish a risk-adjustment diagnosis from a code that is reportable but not capture-eligible
Your checkpoint
Condition-capture worksheet covering 25 conditions with MEAT determinations and a worked risk-score calculation
Risk adjustment and quality reporting
Abstract 10 records against a quality measure specification, correctly placing each patient in or out of the denominator and numerator
Differentiate exclusion criteria from non-compliance when a patient is removed from a measure denominator
Identify documentation gaps that would cause a compliant care encounter to fail measure capture
Draft a one-page gap-closure summary linking documentation fixes to specific measure outcomes
Your checkpoint
Quality abstraction log for 10 records with denominator/numerator/exclusion determinations and a gap-closure summary
Communication and provider education
Compose 6 provider education talking points that translate a documentation finding into a clinical workflow change
Role-play 3 feedback conversations and script an opening, an evidence statement, and a closing ask for each
Convert 4 audit findings into non-punitive, behavior-specific feedback messages
Design a 20-minute provider education session outline with objectives, examples, and a knowledge check
Your checkpoint
Provider education packet: session outline, 6 talking points, 3 scripted feedback conversations, and a 5-item knowledge check
Core documentation review & Outpatient coding and compliance & Risk adjustment and quality reporting & Communication and provider education
Complete a timed 60-question mixed-domain practice set and score it by domain
Re-review every item missed in weeks 1-7 and restate the underlying rule in your own words
Prioritize the two weakest domains and complete a targeted 30-minute drill in each
Assemble a one-page pre-exam reference card covering E/M selection, MEAT, and modifier logic
Your checkpoint
Timed practice score report by domain, a remediation log of all missed items, and a completed one-page reference card
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80% on the 15-scenario E/M worksheet and submit 5 queries that each contain evidence, clinical indicator, and multiple-choice options
Week 4: Complete all 8 integrated chart reviews with a written findings summary, and be able to state your top 3 error patterns with frequency percentages
Week 6: Correctly place at least 8 of 10 records in the right denominator/numerator/exclusion bucket, and produce a condition-capture worksheet with MEAT determinations for all 25 conditions
Week 8: Score at least 80% overall on the timed mixed-domain practice set with no single domain below 70%, and finish the remediation log and reference card