10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,005-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
These 10 free CDIP questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A patient is admitted as an inpatient and treated for acute respiratory illness. The discharge summary states "probable COVID-19 pneumonia" with no positive test result documented during the stay. According to the FY 2026 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, how should the COVID-19 diagnosis be handled?
Correct answer: C - Do not code COVID-19 as confirmed; provider documentation of a confirmed diagnosis is required
A patient is admitted with congestive heart failure exacerbation. The provider documents the diagnosis but leaves the Present on Admission (POA) field blank. There is no documentation in the H&P, progress notes, or nursing notes that addresses whether the condition was present at the time of admission. Which POA indicator is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: C - U - Documentation insufficient to determine if condition was present at admission
A coder reviews a chart in which the attending physician has clearly documented "sepsis" as the principal diagnosis. The coder believes the patient does not meet Sepsis-3 SOFA criteria and refuses to assign the sepsis code, stating that the diagnosis is not clinically supported. According to ICD-10-CM Section I.A.19, which statement is correct?
Correct answer: B - Code assignment is based on the provider's diagnostic statement; if the coder believes the diagnosis lacks clinical support, a clinical validation query may be initiated
A CDI program is implementing updated documentation expectations for sepsis based on Sepsis-3 criteria. The program must educate approximately 180 hospitalists and intensivists across multiple service lines. Based on Knowles' adult learning principles and ACDIS-published effectiveness data, which educational approach is MOST likely to result in sustained documentation improvement?
Correct answer: C - Brief one-on-one academic detailing sessions using the physician's own recent cases, delivered by the physician advisor at the point of care
A CDI specialist is constructing a Yes/No query to clarify whether a documented diagnosis of acute respiratory failure was present on admission. According to the AHIMA-ACDIS Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice (2022 Update), which option MUST be included in this Yes/No query for it to be compliant?
Correct answer: B - Unable to determine
A CDI specialist sends a query with the title "Capture MCC for sepsis to improve DRG assignment." The query body contains appropriate clinical indicators and four reasonable answer choices. Per the AHIMA-ACDIS 2022 Update, why is this query non-compliant?
Correct answer: C - The title contains impactful information visible to the provider
A CDI specialist verbally asks an attending physician on rounds whether a patient's documented hypoxemia represents acute respiratory failure. The attending verbally confirms acute respiratory failure. The CDI specialist documents the verbal exchange completely in the CDI software, including the date, time, clinical indicators discussed, and the attending's response. The attending does not add the diagnosis to any progress note, the discharge summary, or any other part of the medical record. According to the AHIMA-ACDIS 2022 Update, can acute respiratory failure be coded?
Correct answer: C - No, because a response to a verbal query must be documented in the permanent health record by the provider in order to be coded
A CDI program reports a sustained provider query agreement rate of 99% over the past four quarters. The CDI manager raises this metric as a concern during a leadership meeting rather than celebrating it. What is the MOST likely reason for the manager's concern?
Correct answer: B - An extremely high agreement rate may indicate that queries are leading providers toward predetermined answers or that queries are constructed to be too easy to disagree with
A 72-year-old patient is admitted with a urinary tract infection. The attending documents "sepsis" based on temperature 38.2°C, heart rate 96, and WBC 11,800. The patient's SOFA score is unchanged from baseline, lactate is 1.4 mmol/L, blood pressure is stable without vasopressors, and there is no documented organ dysfunction. What is the MOST appropriate CDI action?
Correct answer: C - Send a clinical validation query citing the documented diagnosis and the absence of supporting clinical indicators
A CDI manager directs the CDI team to prioritize queries on cases that are most likely to shift the DRG to a higher-weighted assignment before the end of the fiscal year, regardless of clinical priority or query compliance considerations. According to the AHIMA Standards of Ethical Coding, what is the MOST appropriate response from a CDI specialist?
Correct answer: C - Decline to participate in the directive and report the concern through the organization's compliance reporting structure
The full bank has 995 more CDIP questions with explanations.
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