Hospitals have invested heavily in clinical documentation improvement (CDI) tools and resources, yet many still struggle to see meaningful gains in Case Mix Index and major complication or comorbidity (MCC) capture rates. Traditional methods are falling short, based on the plateauing of performance metrics nationally; but a population-based approach can reveal the true opportunity for severity-documentation improvement.

The Challenge  

For years, hospitals have relied on chart reviews and benchmarking to identify missed patient severity opportunities. But these familiar methods often fall short for several reasons:

• ‍Benchmarking isn’t precise. No two hospitals share the same diagnosis-related group (DRG) mix, and comparing “similar” facilities overlooks the unique and ever-changing nature of each inpatient population.
• ‍Chart reviews are limited. Sampling a small subset of charts is costly, time-consuming, subjective, contingent on sufficient information in the chart and often produces results that don’t reflect true organizational performance. ‍
• Technology alone doesn’t solve the problem. Despite significant investments in chart-level analytics platforms, results are inconsistent, with little lasting improvement in MCC capture rates, Case Mix Index, or documentation quality.

As a result, organizations struggle to assess their true severity-documentation performance and uncover the full scope of opportunities across their inpatient populations.

The Reality

Despite years of investment in chart-focused tools and traditional CDI strategies, national MCC capture rates have plateaued, with only minor fluctuations driven by seasonal or external factors (e.g. COVID). Hospitals continue to spend on solutions designed to generate queries and incremental improvements, but these efforts often yield diminishing returns. Relying on small-scale chart reviews or peer benchmarking provides an incomplete picture, leaving true opportunity within the inpatient population unknown.

Without a population-level view, hospitals can’t accurately assess the true impact of clinical documentation initiatives or the effectiveness of past technology investments. True severity reporting requires examining trends across the full inpatient population, linking all payor claims data, Case Mix Index performance, and capture rates, to identify where CDI improvement efforts will and have had the greatest impact.

The Bottom Line

Traditional chart-based CDI has produced only modest gains while the broader opportunity remains untapped. Hospitals that depend on chart-review samples, benchmarking, or single-platform solutions rarely see the complete picture of their severity reporting or Case Mix Index performance.

The result is uncertainty around the true ROI of CDI efforts and difficulty pinpointing where to focus next. A population-level analysis brings the needed insight, showing how documentation practices affect reimbursement, quality outcomes, and future strategies.

Why Choose ClinIntell?

At ClinIntell, we’ve spent more than a decade going a mile deep on Case Mix Index, with groundbreaking analyses on national all-payor inpatient claims. As pioneers of population-based severity reporting, we understand the drivers behind capture rates, documentation performance, and industry benchmarks like no one else.

Our approach goes beyond traditional chart review methods, giving hospitals a full view of their inpatient population and enabling actionable insights that drive sustainable CMI improvement. With ClinIntell, executives gain clarity on severity-documentation opportunities and can deploy 80/20 improvement strategies that chart-focused approaches fall short on.

We help hospitals:

• ‍See the full picture — Analyze performance across the entire inpatient population, not just a sample of charts. ‍
• Identify hidden opportunities — Understand which short list of high-impact clinical conditions can be improved to capture true severity and impact CMI in your specific patient population. ‍
• Measure past impact — Evaluate the true effectiveness of previous CDI strategies, technology investments, and physician engagement efforts, via the impact on organizational metrics like CMI. ‍
• Inform actionable decisions — Use evidence-based insights to prioritize initiatives, optimize physician documentation accuracy, and improve risk-adjusted quality outcomes.

By translating complex data into practical intelligence, we empower hospital leadership and physician teams to make decisions that drive measurable and sustainable improvements in severity-documentation, CC/MCC capture rates, Case Mix Index and risk adjustment performance.

The ClinIntell Solution

Our Population-Based Severity Documentation Assessment provides healthcare leaders with the clarity and confidence to make data-driven decisions about their documentation improvement strategies. Unlike traditional chart-focused assessments, our analysis covers your entire and unique inpatient population, offering a comprehensive and objective view of performance.

With our FREE assessment, you’ll receive a detailed, data-rich report that helps your organization:

• ‍Understand long term performance — Explore CC/MCC capture rate trends and CMI performance across multiple years to pinpoint when and where changes occurred and the impact on Case Mix Index.
• ‍Measure the impact of past investments — Review the true return on CDI technologies, staffing models, and education efforts using Medicare claims data. ‍
• Reveal hidden opportunities — Identify areas of under-documented severity that can improve reimbursement accuracy and quality score adjustment, undetectable via chart-based approaches. ‍
• Benchmark at the population level — Compare chart-based results with full inpatient population analysis for a more accurate view of CDI effectiveness. ‍
• Support future CDI investment decision making — Gain evidence-based insights to guide your investment decisions and next steps to ensure sustainable, long-term improvement in documentation performance.

Every month you wait is another month of missed opportunity. Take our FREE, no obligation Population-Based Assessment today and uncover the true ROI of your investments.