07/24/2025
Our on-demand, self-paced course is designed for aspiring and newer CDI professionals who are ready to move beyond theory and into the practical applications of CDI concepts for workplace readiness.
With a customized curriculum, world-class instruction, high-impact case studies, and physician mentorship, this apprenticeship bridges the gap between learning CDI facts and applying CDI knowledge in real-world settings.
What's Included:
• Diagnostic Exam
• Four modules with a total of 40 self-paced classes
• Assignments, case studies, and practice questions to reinforce concepts
• Four live 2-hour online review sessions to support your studies
• CDIP Exam Prep Study Guide/ Q-Bank / Mock Exam with follow-up analysis
• Mock Interviews
• Reference Letters
• One year of ongoing access to all support materials after course
Program Curriculum
Module One: CDI Foundations
Class 1 - Diagnostic Exam Review: A comprehensive, timed pre-assessment that evaluates baseline medical knowledge, documentation logic, and DRG reasoning to create a customized learning pathway.
Class 2 - Program Orientation and Introduction to CDI: Explains the structure of the apprenticeship, sets expectations for live and self-paced work, and introduces the evolving role of the CDI professional in today’s value-based healthcare landscape.
Class 3 - Understanding Inpatient Reimbursement Methodologies: Deep dive into MS-DRG and APR-DRG systems, including how severity of illness (SOI), risk of mortality (ROM), and case mix index (CMI) impact reimbursement and quality outcomes.
Class 4 - Principal Diagnoses and Procedures: DRG Foundations: Learn UHDDS guidelines for selecting principal diagnoses and principal procedures, including how coding choices directly affect DRG groupings and hospital-level metrics.
Class 5 - Capturing and Interpreting Comorbid Conditions: Review the clinical significance of common comorbidities, and learn how to support them through labs, imaging, and treatment evidence for accurate CC/MCC capture.
Class 6 - MCCs, CCs, and HCCs: Linking Severity and Risk: Examine how comorbidity groupings influence inpatient DRG tiering and outpatient risk-adjusted payment models; understand how to identify high-impact opportunities.
Class 7 - CDI Workflow and Operational Expectations: Understand daily CDI workflows: chart prioritization, query volume targets, response tracking, query turnaround time, and how productivity metrics are monitored.
Class 8 - CDI Tools: Software, Query Systems, and Data Resources: Orientation to CDI-specific software (e.g., 3M, Iodine), query tracking platforms, and available reference materials that drive compliant and efficient reviews.
Class 9 - ICD-10 CM: Diagnosis Coding Fundamentals: Review code structure, conventions, coding guidelines, and the documentation requirements for accurate ICD-10-CM code assignment.
Class 10 - ICD-10 PCS: Procedure Coding for CDI: Gain working knowledge of ICD-10-PCS structure, root operations, and the impact of procedure codes (e.g., excisional vs. non-excisional debridement) on DRG assignment.
Class 11 - Chart Reconciliation: Aligning CDI and Coding Teams: Learn how to resolve documentation discrepancies, participate in coding re-reviews, and align queries with coding policies for DRG reconciliation.
Live Session 1 with Dr. Aziz (scheduled at your convenience, before Module 2)
Module Two: Biomedicine in CDI
Class 12 - Clinical Reasoning in Hematology for CDI: Identify and validate conditions such as anemia, neutropenia, pancytopenia, and coagulopathies. Understand transfusion triggers and hematologic MCCs.
Class 13 - CDI in Cardiovascular Documentation: Explore nuanced heart failure terminology, types of myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and vasopressor use to improve severity capture and validation.
Class 14 - Renal Pathophysiology and Documentation Strategy: Navigate documentation of CKD staging, dialysis dependence, AKI types, and renal electrolyte complications like hyperkalemia and acidosis.
Class 15 - Gastrointestinal System: CDI and DRG Shifts: Understand how to capture bleeding sites, acute pancreatitis, Crohn’s with perforation, and cholecystitis subtypes to shift surgical and GI DRGs.
Class 16 - CDI in Pulmonary and Critical Care Conditions: Interpret ABGs, oxygen therapy, ventilator settings, and clinical indicators of respiratory failure, ARDS, and pneumonia with organism specificity.
Class 17 - Neurological System for CDI Professionals: Identify documentation gaps in stroke (ischemic / hemorrhagic), encephalopathy (metabolic, toxic, hepatic), myelopathy, and quadriplegia.
Class 18 - Metabolic Disorders and Electrolyte Imbalances: Document hyponatremia, hypernatremia, acid-base disorders, calcium/phosphorus issues, and the CDI impact of conditions like malnutrition and sepsis.
Class 19 - Endocrine and Hormonal Conditions in CDI: Document diabetes with complications, adrenal and thyroid disorders, hyperaldosteronism, and acute metabolic crises to optimize capture of risk and severity.
Class 20 - Nutritional Status, Malnutrition, and Functional Status: Apply ASPEN criteria for malnutrition, interpret anthropometrics, and recognize when to document functional quadriplegia, cachexia, or severe dependency.
Class 21 - Documentation Strategy for Sepsis and Septic Shock: Apply sepsis-3 criteria, differentiate from SIRS, and ensure source, organ dysfunction, and response to treatment are fully captured in provider documentation.
Class 22 - Linking Biomedicine to Query Practice: Use biomedicine knowledge to create evidence-based queries for electrolyte, infectious, and multisystem conditions that affect DRG and audit vulnerability.
Live Session 2 with Dr. Aziz (scheduled at your convenience, before Module 3)
Module Three: Chart Review and Query Mastery
Class 23 - Introduction to Chart Review: Structure and Prioritization: Learn the order and depth of review: H&P, progress notes, labs, imaging, procedures, and nursing notes—with a focus on spotting documentation gaps.
Class 24 - Foundations of Compliant Query Writing: Understand the principles of compliant, clinically supported, non-leading query formats in accordance with AHIMA and ACDIS guidelines.
Class 25 - Concurrent Chart Review Part 1: Early Admission Review: Master the initial 24- to 72-hour chart review process, identifying high-impact query targets such as sepsis, AKI, and encephalopathy early in the stay.
Class 26 - Concurrent Chart Review Part 2: ICU and Surgical Focus: Analyze charts for complex patients including surgical, transplant, and ICU populations where CC/MCC capture and validation are often missed.
Class 27 - Retrospective Chart Review Part 1: Pre-Bill CDI Interventions: Review charts after discharge but before final coding to query missed conditions and ensure full documentation for severity metrics.
Class 28 - Retrospective Chart Review Part 2: Mortality and LOS Focus: Target reviews for risk-adjusted metrics like expected mortality, length of stay, and preventable readmissions.
Class 29 - Clinical Validation: Principles and Payer Focus: Learn how to validate diagnoses that lack sufficient clinical support using clinical indicators and treatment response to build defensible cases.
Class 30 - Clinical Validation Part 2: Constructing Defensible Queries: Apply case studies to build clinically sound queries for sepsis, encephalopathy, AKI, and respiratory failure—focusing on pre-empting denials.
Class 31 - Concurrent Queries: Timing and Escalation Pathways: Learn when and how to deliver time-sensitive queries and escalate unresolved high-risk documentation issues.
Class 32 - Retrospective Clinical Queries: Post-Discharge Strategy: Use post-discharge query opportunities to finalize MCC/CC capture and strengthen the clinical record against audit risk.
Class 33 - Chart Review Techniques Part 1: Diagnoses from Data: Translate objective clinical data (labs, imaging, vitals) into CDI query cues for unreported diagnoses.
Class 34 - Chart Review Techniques Part 2: Procedure-Based and Specialty Charts: Dive into complex service lines like orthopedics, cardiology, and trauma—identifying documentation issues tied to surgical DRGs.
Class 35 - Query Techniques Part 1: Basic to Intermediate: Practice writing queries for commonly under-documented conditions using compliant multiple-choice and open-ended formats.
Class 36 - Query Techniques Part 2: Advanced Clinical Conditions: Tackle advanced queries involving clinical validation, overlapping diagnoses, and ambiguous documentation.
Class 37 - Quality Audits Part 1: Internal Review and Opportunity Identification: Perform internal audits for missed query opportunities, denied diagnoses, and DRG shifts—providing feedback for improvement.
Class 38 - Quality Audits Part 2: Compliance, Ethics, and Risk Mitigation: Audit queries for compliance with national standards and identify risks for over-querying, clinical judgment errors, or documentation overreach.
Live Session 3 with Dr. Aziz (scheduled at your convenience, before Module 4)
Module Four: Career Development and Post-Program Success
Class 39 - Professional Development and CDI Career Strategy: Learn how to position yourself competitively in the CDI market with resume optimization, LinkedIn branding, and interview strategy. Complete additional case studies with chart review and query practice and questions for concept applications.
Class 40 - Post-Program Support and Certification Preparation: Understand how to use the course resources in an ongoing fashion to support career entry and career growth. Discover your top areas of focus for continued inpatient CDI skill growth and improvement. Learn about best practices for the CDIP Exam Prep Learning Module that follows Modules 1 – 4.
Live Session 4 with Dr. Aziz (scheduled at your convenience, before the CDIP Exam Prep Module)
Post-Class Training: Certification Readiness & Professional Preparation
On-Demand CDIP Exam Prep Learning Module (Self-Paced)
Study Guides and 300 Targeted Practice Questions, thoughtfully curated to reinforce the core competencies required for CDIP Exam success:
• 50-Question Diagnostic Exam
• 150 Q-Bank questions with detailed answers and rationales
• 100-Question Mock Exam with 2-hour live online results review
Professional Preparation:
Mock Interviews: Receive a series of practice interviews designed to test your core interview skills and CDI knowledge to give you a competitive edge.
Reference Letters: Personalized reference letters written to accompany your job applications, citing all your acquired CDI competencies.
Get Started Today!
This comprehensive program serves as a well-engineered bridge, specifically designed to take you from the solid ground of CDI theory to the dynamic landscape of real-world CDI practice, ensuring you arrive ready for the professional journey ahead.
Start building a CDI career with confidence, clarity, and clinical precision. Let your knowledge on interview day speak for your expertise.
Sign up today and unlock a whole new level of job satisfaction and career success.
Visit and select the On-Demand Self-Paced Comprehensive CDI Apprenticeship Course to enroll now.
At checkout, feel free to select the payment program that works best for you. We also accept all major credit cards.
Stand out among the crowd of CDI specialists applying for their first role and show the hiring team how you are ready to start reviewing charts and sending queries on your very first day of work!
https://cdiqconsulting.com/ -cdi-apprenticeship-course
