System Physician Advisor - Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI)

System Physician Advisor for CDI

The System Physician Advisor for CDI serves as a key liaison between Quality, clinical teams, CDI specialists, coding professionals, and hospital leadership. This role ensures accurate, complete, and compliant clinical documentation that reflects the true severity of illness, risk of mortality, and quality of care provided across Henry Ford Health. The advisor will champion documentation integrity initiatives, educate providers, and drive improvements that directly impact quality outcomes, compliance, and organizational performance. The Physician Advisor will work the quality team to prioritize CDI efforts that support top-decile quality outcomes, as measured through Vizient expected performance, CMS Programs, Leapfrog, and U.S. News & World Report.

Reporting Structure:

Direct: Chief Utilization Officer

Dotted Line: Chief Quality Officer

Primary Responsibilities:

Documentation Integrity

Review inpatient medical records for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with regulatory standards.

Ensure documentation reflects the true severity of illness, risk of mortality, and medical necessity.

Physician Education & Support

Provide ongoing education to physicians and advanced practice providers regarding documentation improvement.

Serve as a resource for clinical staff on coding, DRG assignment, and documentation requirements.

Collaboration

Partner with the CQO, Quality Team, CMOs, Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) specialists, coders, and hospital CDI physician advisors.

Act as a bridge between clinical and administrative departments to align documentation with organizational quality goals.

Quality & Compliance

Monitor documentation trends and identify opportunities for improvement.

Ensure compliance with CMS, Joint Commission, and other accrediting bodies.

Participate in audits and assist with appeals related to clinical documentation and DRG denials.

Drive initiatives that improve quality scores, patient safety indicators, and risk-adjusted outcomes.

Collaboration

Advise hospital leadership on documentation practices impacting quality scores, reimbursement, and compliance.

Contribute to policy development and CDI program strategy.

System Definitions for Diagnosis

Develop and maintain standardized definitions for diagnoses across the health system to ensure consistency in documentation and coding.

Collaborate with CDI teams, coding professionals, and clinical leadership to align definitions with regulatory requirements and organizational goals.

Provide guidance to physicians and CDI specialists on applying these definitions in clinical documentation.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Query Response Rate: Percentage of physician queries answered within 48 hours.

DRG Accuracy: Rate of correct DRG assignment post-review.

Severity of Illness (SOI) & Risk of Mortality (ROM) Capture: Improvement in case mix index and quality metrics.

Denial Reduction: Percentage decrease in DRG-related denials.

Education Impact: Number of physicians trained and improvement in documentation compliance scores.

Vizient Expected Mortality Index

Vizient Expected Length of Stay (LOS) Index

Observed-to-Expected (O/E) Mortality

O/E Readmissions

Minimum Qualifications:

Doctoral degree in Medicine (MD or DO).

Unrestricted Michigan medical license and DEA certification.

Board certification in a clinical specialty.

Minimum 5 years of clinical practice; prior leadership experience preferred.

Knowledge of CDI, coding, and quality improvement principles.

Familiarity with EMR systems (Epic preferred) and ICD-10 coding standards.

Preferred: Certification from ABQAURP or ACPA-C.

Skills & Competencies:

Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Ability to influence and engage physicians and multidisciplinary teams.

Analytical ability to interpret data and drive improvements.

Organizational Expectations:

Demonstrates professionalism and respect in all interactions.

Maintains confidentiality of patient and business information.

Adheres to HFH policies, medical staff bylaws, and performance standards.

Act as a resource and collaborate with hospital CDI physician advisors