Query for debridement

This sample debridement query was provided by Jera Van Damme, BSN, RN, CCDS, senior clinical documentation educator at Essentia Health in Duluth, Minnesota.

This sample has been reviewed and approved by ACDIS’ Forms & Tools Library Committee. The committee recommends that, should you choose to use this sample, you adapt it to your programmatic needs, EHR system requirements, and organizational diagnostic criteria. Before sending this query, the first set of asterisks on the form are to be replaced with the provider’s name, the second set should be replaced with the clinical indicators for that patient, the third set should be replaced with the question at hand, and the fourth set should be replaced with the CDI professional’s name and contact information. Additionally, to allow for accurate coding, those wishing to adapt this query may wish to add the following specifics:

• Site of debridement
• Type/description (excisional or non-excisional)
• Depth (deepest layer debrided—i.e., skin, full or partial thickness, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, or bone)
• Tissue removed (devitalized)
• Instrument used (scalpel, blade, scissors, etc.)
• Appearance and size (character of wound—before and after debridement, include pre/post debridement measurements)

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