The education component must include completed college-level course work in medical terminology and human anatomy and physiology.ģ. An Associate’s degree (or equivalent) in an allied health field (other than what is listed above) and three (3) years of experience as a concurrent or retrospective documentation specialist in an inpatient acute care facility using the United States IPPS system. An RN, RHIA, RHIT, MD or DO and two (2) years of experience as a concurrent or retrospective documentation specialist in an inpatient acute care facility using the United States IPPS system.Ģ.

The candidate for the CCDS exam must meet one of the following three education and experience standards and currently be employed as either a concurrent or retrospective Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist: Meet the work experience requirements prior to submitting their application. Once a candidate has accumulated the time, it does not expire. Have at least two years of experience as a documentation specialist. Applications may be audited to verify work history and educational background. List their documentation specialist experience. Support compliance efforts by promoting a Code of Ethics for clinical documentation integrity specialists.Īssist hospitals and healthcare entities in identifying individuals with substantive knowledge, experience, and skills in clinical documentation integrity for the benefit of their organization.Ĭandidates who apply for the examination must: Promote documentation and medical records integrity by helping clinical documentation specialists define and obtain the requisite knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill their responsibilities. Provides special recognition to those clinical documentation specialists who demonstrate mastery of an acquired body of knowledge and skills in clinical documentation integrity through successful completion of the certification process. The Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) examination is designed to test an applicant’s ability to recall documentation and coding guidelines and industry regulations pertaining to clinical documentation improvement and apply that knowledge to real-life scenarios clinical documentation specialists face every day.Īs per ACDIS, CCDS certification has the following objectives. Many hospitals now ask for some sort of certificate to prove you have knowledge and understanding in the field.ĬCDS certificate is considered gold standard for folks who wish to pursue CDI. Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS)Īnybody who is interested in clinical documentation and wishes to work as a Physician advisor or a part time Clinical documentation improvement (CDI),, having a CCDS certification will help you.

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