1. A CDI specialist is reviewing the dashboard metrics for

her hospital and notices that the case mix index (CMI) has

decreased from 1.8 to 1.6 in the last quarter. What is the

most likely reason for this change?

a) The hospital has admitted more patients with lower

severity levels.

b) The hospital has improved its documentation and coding

accuracy.

c) The hospital has increased its length of stay (LOS) for

most DRGs.

d) The hospital has reduced its readmission rates for most

DRGs.

*Answer: a) The hospital has admitted more patients with

lower severity levels.*

Rationale: CMI is a measure of the average severity and

resource consumption of a hospital's patients, calculated by

dividing the total DRG relative weights by the total number

of discharges. A lower CMI indicates that the hospital's

patients have lower severity levels and require less

resources, which could be due to changes in admission

patterns, payer mix, or clinical practice.

2. A CDI specialist is comparing the dashboard metrics for

her hospital with those of a peer hospital in the same

region. She notices that her hospital has a higher mortality

index (MI) than the peer hospital. What does this mean?

a) Her hospital has more deaths than expected based on its

case mix.

b) Her hospital has fewer deaths than expected based on its