[Reliability of data from Authorization Forms for Hospital Admittance, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

This article presents data from a study on quality of information from the data bank on the form used in the Brazilian health care system to authorize hospital admittance (AIH). The form pertains to the Unified Health System (SUS) and is used by hospitals to be reimbursed for the health care provided to patients, with public funds. The AIH data bank is the largest source of information in Brazil on production by hospitals. This study analyzes a sample of forms filled out by private hospitals under contract with the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1986. Study design was based on reliability between interviewers, and agreement was analyzed utilizing the kappa test. Agreement was analyzed between data from AIH forms filled out by administrative personnel and information from medical files for patients, focusing on demographic, administrative, and clinical variables. The first two types of variables were generally more reliable than the third. Reliability for the principal diagnosis was worse than for the prescribed procedure, despite the latter being the reference for unit reimbursement by the Unified Health System. Furthermore, where there was disagreement, hospitals were more likely to adopt a procedure with higher reimbursement value as compared to the data derived from the clinical file. The article proposes measures to improve data quality.