What are the benefits of the CCDS certification? Following is a list of potential benefits for the hospital/facility and the clinical documentation specialist.

Hospital Benefits

Develop well trained and competent clinical documentation specialists

Realize the benefits of a clinical documentation improvement program by promoting standards of competency for clinical documentation specialists of diverse backgrounds.

Acknowledge that clinical documentation specialists are capable of providing leadership

Identify individuals with substantive knowledge and skills in data mining and reporting, in running effective clinical documentation programs, and in providing ongoing education for physicians and other clinical staff.

Realize security in your clinical documentation specialists

Know that your hospital’s clinical documentation improvement program is being run by experienced, qualified professionals.

Provide impetus to stay up-to-date with regulations

Ongoing certification requires clinical documentation specialists to stay current with continuing education in areas critical to accurate documentation, coding, and hospital quality initiatives.

Know that compliance standards are met

In an atmosphere of Recovery Audit Contractors and Office of Inspector General scrutiny, certification ensures a knowledge of industry-wide compliance initiatives and adherence to a Code of Ethics.

Clinical Documentation Specialist Benefits

Encourage clinical documentation specialists to become better at their profession

Promote individual and hospital success by helping clinical documentation specialists define and obtain the requisite knowledge and skills to fulfill their responsibilities effectively.

Recognize clinical documentation specialists with knowledge, skills, and experience

Achieve a mark of distinction and professionalism for those clinical documentation specialists who demonstrate mastery of an acquired body of knowledge and skills in the clinical documentation improvement profession.

Establish clinical documentation specialists as leaders

Obtain credible leadership within their own ranks and provide physicians and clinical staff with education regarding documentation requirements.

Emphasize the unique and important role of the clinical documentation specialist

Differentiate themselves from other roles within health information management (HIM) or case management and establish the emerging clinical documentation specialist profession as a key player in assuring healthcare data integrity.

Ensure continued education

Foster continuing education and learning of changing government and private payer regulations and industry standards.

About the certification

The purpose of the Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) certification is to provide a mark of distinction and professionalism for clinical documentation specialists. The CCDS program recognizes that the clinical documentation specialists’ role is complex and multidisciplinary and is suited to professionals that are clinically knowledgeable, proficient in analyzing an interpreting medical record documentation, capable of tracking and trending their program goals and objectives, and possess the ability to engage physicians in dialogue and educational efforts.

Because the CCDS credential was developed to recognize individuals with a proven ability to work as a clinical documentation specialist, candidates for the CCDS designation are required to have at least one year of experience in the profession. Additionally, candidates must have some college-level education (see Program Requirements). Successful candidates must achieve a passing score on the certification examination, which tests the candidate’s ability to abide by documentation and coding regulations and apply his or her experience and knowledge to typical scenarios that clinical documentation specialists encounter in their profession.

The certification program is not designed to determine who shall serve as a clinical documentation specialist. That is the responsibility of the leadership team for each hospital. Instead, the goal is to promote excellence and distinction for professionals who serve as clinical documentation specialists, be they from nursing, HIM/coding, case management, quality, or other related health care backgrounds.

The CCDS program is a service provided in conjunction with ACDIS specifically to recognize those professionals with baseline levels of education and experience as a clinical documentation specialist. The required experience and education ensures that only clinical documentation specialists with a proven ability to perform their functions can achieve this certification.