ACDIS CCDS-O study plan

Map the CCDS-O exam blueprint to your own practice setting, writing one sentence per task statement describing what you already do and what you must learn.

Define outpatient CDI scope in physician practices, distinguishing it from inpatient CDI and from coding/auditing functions in your own words.

Identify the documentation elements that drive E/M level selection under current office/outpatient E/M rules, listing them from memory before checking a reference.

Build a personal terminology glossary of 20 outpatient CDI terms (problem list, HCC, specificity, query, MEAT, etc.) with a one-line definition each.

Explain how medical decision making (number and complexity of problems, data reviewed, risk) is documented and where documentation commonly falls short in primary care notes.

Practice writing compliant, non-leading physician queries for ambiguous or conflicting documentation in a practice setting, using at least three query formats.

Describe how chronic condition capture and problem-list maintenance affect risk adjustment and quality reporting in physician practices.

Outline how a physician-practice CDI program is structured: staffing, provider engagement, metrics, and escalation paths.

Compare documentation and CDI workflows in physician practices versus hospital-based clinics, listing at least five structural differences.

Identify how clinic settings differ in E/M code selection, supervision, and shared/split documentation expectations.

Draft a pre-bill or second-level review checklist usable in an ambulatory encounter.

Practice identifying documentation that supports medical necessity for tests and referrals ordered in a clinic visit.

Explain how hospital clinic CDI interacts with facility coding, charge capture, and outpatient prospective payment where applicable.

Analyze how clinic documentation supports hierarchical condition category capture and risk-adjustment accuracy without upcoding.

Describe the CDI role in clinic-based quality measure documentation and how gaps are communicated to providers.

Practice reconciling a clinic note against the problem list and identifying undocumented or resolved conditions.

Map the emergency department encounter flow and identify the documentation decision points where CDI adds value.

Explain how ED E/M level is supported by documentation of problems, data, and risk, and where ED notes typically lack specificity.

Describe documentation requirements for ED observation, critical care, and procedures performed at the bedside.

Draft queries appropriate for the ED's time pressure and shift-based provider culture.

Analyze how ED documentation affects downstream inpatient or observation documentation and handoffs.

Describe CDI considerations in other outpatient settings such as urgent care, infusion centers, and ambulatory surgery.

Identify documentation risks specific to each setting, including templated notes, copy-forward, and cloned text.

Explain how to measure CDI program outcomes in these settings (query rate, agreement rate, capture change, denial trends).

Synthesize all four domains into a single review outline organized by documentation concept rather than by setting.

Complete timed practice on mixed-domain scenarios, then categorize every miss by domain and root cause.

Rehearse explaining query rationale to a resistant provider in a short role-play script.

Verify current-year E/M, risk-adjustment, and query-practice guidance against primary sources and correct your notes.

Drill your three recurring error categories until you can state the correct rule and the documentation evidence required.

Build a one-page pre-exam reference of rules you must recall without notes (E/M elements, query standards, risk-adjustment basics).

Simulate a full-length timed exam session and review every missed item against the blueprint.

Finalize a post-exam plan for applying CDI skills in your own setting.