Three questions to consider before you query

Why This Topic Matters

Query practices affect provider workflow, documentation quality, and the overall effectiveness of CDI and coding programs. Understanding when to query and how to frame questions can help reduce confusion, repeated follow-up, and avoidable friction with clinicians.

Article Sections

1. Is this the correct timing?

   Discusses when a query may be premature and the importance of allowing enough clinical information to accumulate before asking. It also touches on choosing the most appropriate clinician to receive the query.

2. What’s the real question?

   Explores how query wording can drift away from the actual documentation issue being addressed. It emphasizes identifying the underlying clinical question before writing the query.

3. Is it integral?

   Reviews the concept of integrality in relation to documentation review and distinguishes it from conditions that are merely associated. It also mentions the role of local institutional definitions in applying this concept.