[Quality of coding in acute inpatient care]

Routine data in the electronic patient record are frequently used for secondary purposes. Core elements of the electronic patient record are diagnoses and procedures, coded with the mandatory classifications. Despite the important role of routine data for reimbursement, quality management and health care statistics, there is currently no systematic analysis of coding quality in Germany. Respective concepts and investigations share the difficulty to decide what's right and what's wrong, being at the end of the long process of medical decision making. Therefore, a relevant amount of disagreement has to be accepted. In case of the principal diagnosis, this could be the fact in half of the patients. Plausibility of coding looks much better. After optimization time in hospitals, regular and complete coding can be expected. Whether coding matches reality, as a prerequisite for further use of the data in medicine and health politics, should be investigated in controlled trials in the future.