Pediatric CDI Educational Series

Pediatric Resource Group

Pediatric Resource Group (PRG) is the only pediatric-focused healthcare consulting firm in the country. PRG’s core service is in the assessment, optimization, and development of pediatric and neonatal CDI programs.

PRG’s physician, nursing, and administrative leaders have developed their respective CDI programs, are national leaders in the pediatric CDI space, and can further support your CDI program through a formal assessment and optimization. PRG also consults on the development of physician advisor programs, utilization management, inpatient access, patient flow/throughput, inpatient pediatric care assessment and optimization, pediatric emergency care optimization, observation unit development, and also has an adult consulting division for hospitals that want to secure one firm for their entire enterprise.

The care, culture, and reimbursement model of pediatrics is different from adults. Your hospital deserves a CDI consulting partner with pediatric expertise and experience that is unmatched in the industry. Discover more at www.PediatricRG.com
 

Ara Balkian, MD, MBA

Ara Balkian, MD, MBA, is the founder and CEO of Pediatric Resource Group (PRG). He was the first hospitalist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and was the Associate Head of the Division of Hospital Medicine and the Associate Chair for the Department of Pediatrics until he took on his current role of Chief Medical Director of Inpatient Operations.

In that role, he has leadership over the Inpatient Access & Transfer Center, which is responsible for the handling of almost 18,000 admissions a year. He also leads the hospital’s utilization management (UM) program and chairs the UM committee. He is the medical director for inpatient care coordination and leads CHLA’s throughput management efforts. He helped develop and continues to lead the Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) program. He developed and leads the Physician Advisor program and the Denials Management program.

He has lectured nationally on topics related to hospital reimbursement, CDI, denials management, and pediatric physician advisor program development. He continues to see patients and teach trainees as a pediatric hospitalist and his research interests are focused on the efficient delivery of inpatient pediatric care.

The driving force for starting PRG is his desire to leverage his experience and team of experts to positively affect pediatric organizations around the country with the ultimate goal of expanding and improving the care provided to children.