CDIP Exam Prep Free practice test →

Free CDIP Practice Questions

10 free, exam-style Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner (CDIP) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free CDIP practice test to study every exam domain.

Question 1

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?

  1. Other
  2. Unable to determine
  3. Not clinically significant
  4. Integral to the underlying condition
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Unable to determine

Question 2

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?

  1. Sepsis cannot be the subject of a multiple-choice query
  2. Query titles must reference the patient's medical record number
  3. The title contains impactful information visible to the provider
  4. Multiple-choice queries require a minimum of five answer options
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - The title contains impactful information visible to the provider

Question 3

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?

  1. Code sepsis as documented because Section I.A.19 prohibits coders from applying clinical criteria
  2. Decline to code sepsis because the patient does not meet Sepsis-3 criteria
  3. Send a clinical validation query citing the documented diagnosis and the absence of supporting clinical indicators
  4. Send a Yes/No query asking the provider whether the patient has sepsis
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Send a clinical validation query citing the documented diagnosis and the absence of supporting clinical indicators

Question 4

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?

  1. Code as confirmed COVID-19 (U07.1) per the inpatient uncertain diagnosis rule in Section II.H
  2. Code as confirmed COVID-19 because all respiratory diagnoses are coded as documented in the inpatient setting
  3. Do not code COVID-19 as confirmed; provider documentation of a confirmed diagnosis is required
  4. Code only the pneumonia and assign Z20.822 (contact with and suspected exposure to COVID-19)
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Do not code COVID-19 as confirmed; provider documentation of a confirmed diagnosis is required

Question 5

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?

  1. Y - Yes, present at admission
  2. W - Clinically undetermined
  3. U - Documentation insufficient to determine if condition was present at admission
  4. 1 - Exempt from POA reporting
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - U - Documentation insufficient to determine if condition was present at admission

Question 6

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?

  1. The coder is correct; clinical criteria such as Sepsis-3 govern code assignment for sepsis
  2. 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
  3. The coder must consult the AHA Coding Clinic, which establishes the binding clinical criteria for diagnoses
  4. The coder should assign the sepsis code only after the SOFA score is independently calculated and documented in the record
Show answer & explanation

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

Question 7

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?

  1. Comply with the directive because the manager has organizational authority over CDI workflow
  2. Comply with the directive but privately document personal concerns in case of future audit
  3. Decline to participate in the directive and report the concern through the organization's compliance reporting structure
  4. Apply the directive only to Medicare cases where DRG assignment directly affects payment
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Decline to participate in the directive and report the concern through the organization's compliance reporting structure

Question 8

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?

  1. The metric indicates the CDI program is performing exceptionally well and should be benchmarked nationally
  2. 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
  3. Provider scorecards have been manipulated to inflate individual agreement rates above the program average
  4. The metric calculation likely contains an error in how "Unable to determine" responses are classified
Show answer & explanation

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

Question 9

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?

  1. A mandatory hospital-wide grand rounds lecture delivered by the CDI medical director
  2. A required online learning module followed by a knowledge-check quiz with a passing score requirement
  3. Brief one-on-one academic detailing sessions using the physician's own recent cases, delivered by the physician advisor at the point of care
  4. A monthly email newsletter summarizing the new documentation expectations with example queries
Show answer & explanation

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

Question 10

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?

  1. Yes, because the verbal query exchange was completely documented in the CDI software with all required elements
  2. Yes, because verbal queries do not require additional documentation when the CDI specialist is credentialed
  3. No, because a response to a verbal query must be documented in the permanent health record by the provider in order to be coded
  4. No, because verbal queries are not permitted under the AHIMA-ACDIS Guidelines and all queries must be in writing
Show answer & explanation

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

Ready for the real thing?

Practice hundreds more CDIP questions with instant scoring, weak-area drills, and full exam simulations.

Start the free practice test See pricing