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A preliminary analysis of differences in coded data from Australia and Maryland
Beth Reid1, Zoe Kelly, Johanna Westbrook
1School of Health Information Management, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW. B.Reid@cchs.usyd.edu.au
Summary
Maryland hospital discharge data uses significantly more diagnosis and procedure codes than Australian data. This difference is largely due to Maryland coders utilizing more diagnostic and non-surgical codes.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Medical Coding Systems
Background:
- Hospital discharge data coding practices vary internationally.
- Differences in coding can impact data analysis and comparability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reasons for the higher number of diagnosis and procedure codes in Maryland (United States) hospital discharge data compared to Australian data.
- To identify specific coding differences between the two countries.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 4000 hospital discharge records from Maryland, USA, and 4000 from Australia.
- Comparison of demographic data (age, sex) and mortality rates between the two samples.
- Detailed examination of diagnosis and procedure codes used in each country.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in age, sex, or number of deaths between the Maryland and Australian samples.
- Maryland coders used substantially more diagnostic and non-surgical codes for procedures compared to Australian coders.
- Significant variations in disease categories were noted, but many Maryland codes were unrelated to the study's selected categories, limiting direct lessons.
Conclusions:
- The higher volume of codes in Maryland's hospital discharge data is primarily attributed to the use of more diagnostic and non-surgical procedure codes.
- Further research is required to fully understand the discrepancies in diagnosis coding between the United States and Australia.
- International standardization of hospital discharge data coding remains a challenge.
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