CDI Physician Advisor
Job Description
Location: Columbus, OH (Hybrid)
We are seeking a CDI Physician Advisor to provide physician-level clinical leadership for a clinical documentation integrity program spanning inpatient and outpatient settings within an acute care hospital. This position is a full-time, direct hire opportunity based in the Columbus, OH area on a hybrid schedule.
This role is best aligned for an experienced hospitalist, intensivist, or internal medicine physician ready to extend clinical impact beyond direct patient care. The ideal candidate can hold credible peer-to-peer conversations with attending physicians, translate complex clinical presentations into defensible documentation, and build the education and denial strategy that protects both quality scores and reimbursement. This is an individual contributor role serving as the program’s physician subject matter expert.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the clinical expert for CDI escalations, providing physician-level rationale on documentation specificity and severity capture
- Review concurrent and retrospective physician queries on DRG-impacting diagnoses and CC/MCC capture
- Conduct peer-to-peer conversations with attending physicians to clarify ambiguous or conflicting documentation
- Design and deliver CDI education programming for medical staff, residents, and new physician hires
- Collaborate with coding and HIM leadership to resolve documentation disputes and support CC/MCC determinations
- Lead clinical denial management by authoring appeals and preparing peer-to-peer defense arguments
- Analyze query response rates, DRG shift outcomes, and case mix index trends to guide program strategy
- Participate in CDI steering committees and quality workgroups, providing physician perspective on documentation initiatives
- Identify systemic documentation gaps through targeted clinical record review and recommend workflow corrections
- Advise leadership on regulatory changes, Coding Clinic guidance, and payer policy shifts affecting documentation requirements
Qualifications:
- MD or DO degree required
- Active, unrestricted medical license required with no disciplinary history
- Board certification in Internal Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Critical Care, or Pulmonology required; board-eligible candidates with direct CDI experience considered
- Minimum of 5 years of inpatient or acute care clinical practice required
- Minimum of 2 years of CDI, physician advisor, or utilization review experience preferred
- ACDIS or AHIMA CDI certification preferred (CCDS-O or CDIP)
- Working knowledge of MS-DRG and APR-DRG methodology, ICD-10-CM/PCS, Coding Clinic guidance, and present-on-admission rules
- Strong physician engagement, medical staff education, and quality improvement communication skills
Schedule:
- Full-time position
- Hybrid schedule with a combination of on-site days in the Columbus, OH area and remote days
- Standard business hours, Monday through Friday
Salary Range: The salary range for this position is approximately $205,000 – $250,000 annually ($98.56 – $120.19 per hour), based on experience and qualifications.
Interview Process:
Selected candidates will participate in a multi-step interview process, including an initial screening with TalentLNX followed by interviews with department leadership.
Equal Opportunity Employer: TalentLNX is committed to equal employment opportunity and a diverse, inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.