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$39.5K

$108.4K

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How much do clinical documentation improvement manager jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 26, 2026, the average yearly pay for clinical documentation improvement manager in the United States is $108,414.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,500.00 and $146,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a clinical documentation improvement manager?

A Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Manager is a healthcare professional responsible for overseeing programs that ensure clinical documentation accurately reflects patients’ diagnoses, treatments, and care provided. They work closely with physicians, nurses, and coding staff to clarify medical record information, improve documentation quality, and support accurate coding and billing. This role helps enhance patient care, ensure compliance with regulations, and optimize hospital reimbursement. CDI Managers often lead a team of specialists, provide training, and implement best practices in clinical documentation.

How does a clinical documentation improvement manager collaborate with physicians and clinical staff to enhance documentation quality?

A Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager regularly works alongside physicians, nurses, and coding teams to ensure clinical documentation accurately reflects patient care and supports appropriate coding and reimbursement. This often involves conducting educational sessions, providing real-time feedback, and facilitating query processes when additional clarification is needed. Effective communication and relationship-building are essential, as the manager must bridge the gap between clinical language and coding requirements while promoting best practices across departments. Collaboration is often ongoing, with frequent meetings and interdisciplinary rounds to review complex cases and address documentation challenges.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a clinical documentation improvement manager?

To thrive as a Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager, you need an in-depth understanding of clinical terminology, coding standards (ICD-10, CPT), and healthcare regulations, usually backed by a degree in nursing, HIM, or a related field. Familiarity with electronic health record (EHR) systems, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) software, and relevant certifications such as CCDS or CDIP is essential. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and excellent communication skills are crucial for collaborating with clinicians and educating staff. These skills ensure accurate, complete documentation, which supports optimal patient care, regulatory compliance, and proper revenue cycle management.

What is the difference between Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager vs Clinical Documentation Specialist?

AspectClinical Documentation Improvement ManagerClinical Documentation Specialist
CredentialsTypically requires RHIT, RHIA, or CCS certificationsOften holds CCS, CPC, or RHIT certifications
Work EnvironmentOversees teams in hospitals or health systems, focusing on documentation qualityWorks directly with physicians and coding staff to improve documentation
Industry UsageUsed in healthcare organizations to lead CDI programsCommonly employed in hospitals to enhance clinical records
Search & Comparison IntentOften compared for leadership roles in CDICompared for direct documentation improvement tasks

The Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager oversees CDI teams and strategies, focusing on program leadership, while the Clinical Documentation Specialist works directly on improving clinical records through collaboration with healthcare providers. Both roles require similar certifications and are integral to healthcare documentation quality, but differ mainly in scope and responsibilities.

More about Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager jobs

What cities are hiring for Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager jobs?

Cities with the most Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager job openings:

What are the most commonly searched types of Clinical Documentation Improvement jobs?

The most popular types of Clinical Documentation Improvement jobs are:

What states have the most Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager jobs?

States with the most job openings for Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager jobs include:

Infographic showing various Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 80% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 18% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $108,414 per year, or $52.1 per hour.

Manager, Clinical Documentation Improvement

Iowa City, IA • On-site


The University of Iowa
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools • 10K+ employees

6.9

Company rating: 6.9 out of 10

Based on 85 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

463rd of 623 rated colleges and universities

People enjoy working here

Recommended by students

Respectful managers


$100 - $140/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 23 days ago


Job description

Manager, Clinical Documentation Improvement

The Office of Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) at UI Health Care has an opening for a full-time CDI Manager. The CDI Manager provides leadership, direction, and oversight for clinical documentation improvement and education system‑wide, to ensure complete, accurate, compliant documentation that reflects patient acuity, supports quality outcomes, and enables appropriate reimbursement. The role leads, develops, and mentors the CDI Specialist team; designs and delivers clinical care provider and staff education (including residents and new providers); partners closely with Health Information Management/Coding, Quality, Analytics, Physician Advisors, and Clinical Departments; and drives process improvement and operational consistency across the enterprise.

Job Duties Include

Apply Process Improvement, Quality Engineering, and Management Engineering Concepts and Methodologies

Coordinates documentation improvement & coding audits, providing physician documentation improvement education at the department level. This individual will be required to make decisions regarding documentation for accurate ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-CM-PCS code assignment and quality related challenges.

Accountable for CDI nursing and department level successes as demonstrated through various indices which include but not limited to accurate Severity of Illness (SOI) / Risk of Mortality (ROM) capture rates, Complicating or Comorbid Condition (CC) / Major Complicating or Comorbid Condition (MCC) capture rates, Case Mix Index (CMI) analysis, physician query- response rates, and tracking financial variances, while providing guidance, coaching, and counseling to staff to assure outcomes and goals are achieved.

Work with program leadership to plan, develop, and implement clinical documentation education programs for clinical care providers, staff, the CDI Specialist team, including resident and new provider orientation, and onboarding for CDI Specialists and patient care teams.

Institutes strategies that facilitate effective collaboration between the Director, Clinical Documentation Improvement, Director/Manager of Health Information Management, Administration, and other applicable departments as it relates to clinical documentation improvement.

Maintains and shares expertise with MS-DRG/APR-DRG’s and Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), CMS guidelines and Official Coding Guidelines.

Works closely with Health Information Management, Clinical Documentation Specialists and the Quality Improvement Program to successfully identify, review and develop education on patient safety indicators, hospital acquired conditions and other quality driven measures.

Assist to maintain positive relationships with other departments and University colleges to facilitate collaboration and achievement of department, hospital, and UI Health Care goals.

Represents the CDI Director on hospital and UI Health Care subcommittees; chairs committees as requested.

Represents the UI Health Care on various internal and external committees and associations as requested by leadership.

Works with CDI physician advisors to ensure clear understanding of their role and improve ongoing quality improvement for CDI.

Quality Assurance and Compliance

Performs routine audits of documentation queries to identify knowledge gaps and improve the accuracy of quality related documentation, capture, and query processes.

Evaluates regulatory changes related to quality measures and educates staff appropriately.

Knowledgeable of legal issues involved in patient care information and exercises considerable judgment relative to HIPAA issues and compliance, including AHIMA query practices.

Collaborates with the inpatient coding team and their leadership to ensure adherence to established processes, providing second level quality reviews when necessary.

Works closely with Physician Advisor(s)/Quality Leadership/CDI Director on escalated cases to ensure that the appropriate documentation is added to the medical record, collaborating with the inpatient Coding team and Clinical Informatics team and their leadership to ensure adherence to established processes, and providing second level reviews when necessary.

Evaluates regulatory changes and educates staff appropriately.

Training/Education

Creates and implements consistent training and development for nursing staff, physicians and mid-level practitioners that address documentation issues and variances related to quality metrics and measures.

Teaches and mentors other Clinical Department Specialists on clinical documentation improvement principles and concepts, serving as a resource person to key stakeholders across the organization.

Leads CDI onboarding program to ensure efficient and complete education and development of clinical documentation specialists.

Maintains a climate of learning that promotes educational experiences for all levels of staff.

Assists with implementation of system and process changes, including ongoing Clinical Documentation Improvement staff training.

Leadership/Supervision

Provides daily oversight and supervision of CDI Specialists/RNs.

Promotes department and organizational policy compliance and development with CDI Director.

Leads quarterly review meetings with individual CDI nurses and CDI Director.

Has regular, reliable, predictable attendance in the performance of essential functions while meeting or exceeding expected timelines on performance level as it relates to personnel, and reporting responsibilities.

Acts as delegate for Director when necessary

Human Resources Administration

Hires, develops, and manages the performance of staff; assures staff are compliant with UI policies and procedures.

Develops and implements policies and practices of a culture that supports staff engagement.

Holds employees accountable for high performance and high engagement culture by sharing data, articulating expectations, monitoring performance, and providing feedback consistency across areas of responsibility.

Identifies and provides opportunities for the staff to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to contribute to the success of the department.

Provides actionable quality-driven feedback for leadership and CDI specialist that allows consistent accountability supporting high performance and a high engagement culture, by articulating expectations, monitoring performance, and providing feedback consistency across areas of responsibility.

Assists with compliant record keeping and tracking relative to staff education.

Provides back up as a mentor/resource to the CDI nursing team, as needed.

Percent of Time: 100% (full-time)

Work schedule: Some flexibility between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Location: This position is eligible to participate in partial remote work (working 2–3 days onsite per week) after the initial training and onboarding has been completed. Initial onboarding and training will be completed at the Healthcare Support Services Building (HSSB), located at 3231 Ridgeway Drive in Coralville, IA 52241. Remote work must be performed at a location within the state of Iowa and will require a work arrangement form to be completed upon the start of your employment. Per policy, work arrangements will be reviewed annually and must comply with the remote work program and related policies and the employee travel policy when working at a remote location.

Benefits Highlights

Fringe benefit package including paid vacation; sick leave; health, dental, life and disability insurance options; and generous employer contributions into retirement plans. Complete information regarding the full benefits package may be viewed at: https://hr.uiowa.edu/benefits.

Required
  • Baccalaureate degree or master’s degree in nursing.
  • License to practice nursing in Iowa.
  • Minimum of two (2) years of recent work experience as a Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist with at least three (3) years of clinical experience at an academic medical center.
  • At least one (1) year of managerial or supervisory experience, ELA acceptable.
  • Advanced clinical expertise and extensive knowledge of complex disease processes with a broad clinical experience in an inpatient setting required.
  • Broad knowledge of the disease process, normal/abnormal findings, and reasonable course of treatment, quality measures, and risk management issues is essential.
  • Healthcare education experience with a strong understanding of the requirements for clinical coding and billing according to the rules of Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers preferred.
  • Extensive knowledge of CDI related quality measures, including AHRQ measures and AHIMA query practice guidelines, knowledge of coding structures/national coding guidelines and related appropriate chart documentation.
  • Demonstrated competency in teaching/learning process, organizational skills and computer literacy required, including proficiency with computer software applications utilized within the CDI programs (i.e. Excel, Word, PowerPoint, 3M 360).
  • Excellent professional demeanor and communication skills.
  • Excellent people skills with physicians, nursing staff, and interdisciplinary team members as demonstrated through written and verbal communication, including presentation and training skills.
  • Excellent organizational, time management and critical thinking skills.
  • Currently holds Clinical Documentation certification OR obtains certification within one (1) year, i.e.: Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS), or Electronic Medical Records experience (EPIC preferred).
  • Experience with performance improvement methodologies.
  • Experience with data mining and/or data analytics.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of healthcare outcomes and performance improvement initiatives/techniques.
  • Current coding certification (CPC, CCS, RHIA/RHIT) or additional outpatient CDI certification (CCDS-O).
  • Experience with hospital quality/safety metrics.
  • Experience working at large academic medical centers.
  • Holds a quality related certification.
Equal opportunity employer

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, or associational preferences.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance or accommodations with the application or interview process may contact University Human Resources/Faculty and Staff Disability Services, (319) 335-2660 or fsds@uiowa.edu . For jobs in UI Health care, please contact UI Health care Leave & Disability Administration at 319-356-7543 .

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