Welcome to OUR CDI Academy

James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS, CDIP, CCDS is the founder and President of CDIMD, a Nashville-based physician and facility advisory and consulting firm that advocates ICD-10-pertinent clinical documentation and coding integrity essential to healthcare revenue cycles and quality measurement.    

 
As a coding and clinical documentation integrity (CDI) expert with over 20 years of experience and as a frequent speaker to medical staff, Health Information Management (HIM) and CDI associations, Dr. Kennedy is nationally recognized for his subject matter expertise, communication skills, and problem-solving approach.      

He has been designated as a Certified Coding Specialist and Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner by the American Health Information Management Association and as a Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist by ACDIS.      

Dr. Kennedy is a native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Memphis, where he trained and was board-certified in Internal Medicine.   

   
He practiced as a general internist for fifteen years in Franklin, Tennessee as a solo practitioner, in private multispecialty groups and ultimately with Vanderbilt Health Services and also served as the chairman of the 911 board and as the medical examiner for Williamson county, Tennessee. 

The CDI Academy Inpatient Clinical Documentation Integrity Training is a live virtual educational course perfect for individuals wishing to begin or enhance their careers in inpatient CDI and further develop critical thinking and problem solving skills essential to CDI success.  

Led by an American-Board of Internal Medicine-certified physician with 45 years of clinical experience, 22 years of United States-based CDI involvement, teaching, and leadership and 5 years of CDI-pertinent medical informatics development and implementation, your orientation of two sessions of two all day marathons (4 days in total) will immerse your soul and spirit in CDI concepts essential to job procurement and performance. 

While rigorous in his approach to the subject matter, having undergone his own transition from direct clinical care to this administrative role in 1999, your instructor will compassionately facilitate your embrace of the challenging aspects of inpatient reimbursement and quality measurement that will prepare you for your preemployment interviews and subsequent engagement with physicians, coders, and other CDI specialists as part of your daily routine.

Upon completion of the course and passing our written evaluation that will test your critical thinking skills, the CDI Search team will advocate your availability with potential employers and mentor you in your entry in this exciting field. 

CDI Academy can also work directly with your staff in areas that may need further education.  We offer one day refresher courses or more depending on what you desire for your team.  

We will work with you to identify opportunities to enhance the knowledge base in CDI and Coding principles that can improve efficiency for your team in order to be successful.  

 I was stagnant in my career as an RN looking for another direction to take when I came across CDI and CDI Answers. Scott Entinger was a great mentor as he guided me through learning more about CDI and why this would be a great career path for me to take. 

After taking some time to consider, I decided to begin my journey with CDI.  Scott and Juliana set me up to begin the CDI Answers Boot Camp along with helping me set up interviews using his connections. I completed the CDI Bootcamp led by Dr. Kennedy who was a great teacher, very knowledgeable, and valued our thoughts/feedback throughout the course. 

Within a week, I had been offered a CDI job at one of the local hospitals.  I have found CDI to be great for using my critical thinking skills without having to be at the bedside for nursing. I am so grateful for Scott and Dr. Kennedy's guidance and support!

I want to express my gratitude for where I am in my career right now.

A decade ago, you and Joe approached me with a leadership position when I had no prior experience at that level.

You welcomed me into your nest, nurtured me, and trained me for the interview that helped me present confidently and professionally. The supervisor who interviewed me was also confident in hiring me based on my presentation at the time of the interview.

I am very grateful to you and your team for making the experience so pleasant and memorable that I am able to fully relive those encouraging and empowering moments every time I think of where I came from - humble beginnings.