Clinical coder training initiatives in Ireland

The Hospital In-Patient Enquiry and National Perinatal Reporting System (HIPE & NPRS) Unit of the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland requested a review of its coder training programs and data quality initiatives, primarily because of the decision to implement a major change in Ireland's morbidity classification in January 2005. In August 2004, a formative evaluation using qualitative methods was conducted to assess the Unit's programs and initiatives. A number of opportunities for building on the solid frameworks the Unit has implemented were identified. In this paper, we focus on the Unit's coder training programs. The Unit's data quality initiatives will be discussed in a subsequent paper (Bramley & Reid 2005).