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Clinical documentation improvement specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a clinical documentation improvement specialist. Clinical documentation improvement specialists usually study nursing, medicine, or health care administration. 44% of clinical documentation improvement specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 29% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 476 real clinical documentation improvement specialist resumes to see exactly what clinical documentation improvement specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for clinical documentation improvement specialists are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online clinical documentation improvement specialist courses to help get the education required to be a clinical documentation improvement specialist.
There are certain clinical documentation improvement specialist certifications that you should consider. These clinical documentation improvement specialist certifications include Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP) and Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT).
What education do you need to become a clinical documentation improvement specialist?
What degree do you need to be a clinical documentation improvement specialist?
- Bachelor's, 44%
- Associate, 29%
- Master's, 13%
- Doctorate, 8%
- Other Degrees, 6%
What should I major in to become a clinical documentation improvement specialist?
Most common colleges for clinical documentation improvement specialists
| Clinical documentation improvement specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 22.41% |
| Florida International University | 6.90% |
| Regis University | 5.17% |
| Western Michigan University | 5.17% |
| Sacred Heart University | 5.17% |
Best majors for clinical documentation improvement specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursing | 58.2% |
| 2 | Medicine | 8.2% |
| 3 | Health Care Administration | 6.3% |
| 4 | Computer Information Systems | 4.3% |
| 5 | Business | 4.0% |
Best colleges for clinical documentation improvement specialists
The best colleges for clinical documentation improvement specialists are Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.
A clinical documentation improvement specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for clinical documentation improvement specialists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become clinical documentation improvement specialists.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
7. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$49,816
Enrollment
6,840
20 best online courses for clinical documentation improvement specialists
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1. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
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This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
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Develop your cost-effective and future-proof documentation strategy...
4. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training
Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...
5. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
6. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment (Clinical Perspective)
HI-FIVE (Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment) Training is a 12-hour online course designed by Columbia University in 2016, with sponsorship from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The training is role-based and uses case scenarios. Also, it has additional, optional modules on other topics of interest or relevance. Although we suggest to complete the course within a month's timeframe, the course is self-paced and so you can start and...
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9. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
10. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
11. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research
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12. The New Trainer's Guide to Creating End User Documentation
Learn quick, easy and practical technical writing skills to write great end user software documentation - FAST...
13. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
14. Introduction to Clinical Data Science
This course will prepare you to complete all parts of the Clinical Data Science Specialization. In this course you will learn how clinical data are generated, the format of these data, and the ethical and legal restrictions on these data. You will also learn enough SQL and R programming skills to be able to complete the entire Specialization - even if you are a beginner programmer. While you are taking this course you will have access to an actual clinical data set and a free, online...
15. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals
The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...
16. Basic of Clinical Data Management
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17. Professional documents using Word 2013
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18. The Beginners Course for Clinical Research
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
19. Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
Key features of the GCP guideline, roles and responsibilities involved and the requirements of essential documentation...
20. Technical Writing: How to Write API Software Documentation
A framework for writing software documentation for an API as a technical writer, using Postman or Swagger UI...
Top 10 most affordable universities for clinical documentation improvement specialists
The most affordable schools for clinical documentation improvement specialists are University of Florida, florida international university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for clinical documentation improvement specialists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for clinical documentation improvement specialists.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
3. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
4. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
5. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
6. University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,368
Cost of attendance
21,034
7. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
9. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
10. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for clinical documentation improvement specialists
The hardest universities for clinical documentation improvement specialists to get into are Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for clinical documentation improvement specialists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for clinical documentation improvement specialists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
5. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
6. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
7. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
10. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for clinical documentation improvement specialists
The easiest schools for clinical documentation improvement specialists to get into are AdventHealth University, d'youville college, and gwynedd mercy university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a clinical documentation improvement specialist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for clinical documentation improvement specialists.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
3. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
4. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
5. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
6. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
7. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
8. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
9. Thomas More University
Crestview Hills, KY • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,099
10. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
Average clinical documentation improvement specialist salary by education level
| Clinical documentation improvement specialist education level | Clinical documentation improvement specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $78,274 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $61,736 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $70,172 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $66,939 |
Clinical documentation improvement specialist education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025