Platis, C.; Papaioannou, L.; Sideri, P.; Messaropoulos, P.; Chalkias, K.; Kontodimopoulos, N. Achieving Robust Medical Coding in DRGs Systems: Innovative Actions Adopted in Greece. Preprints2024, 2024071164. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1164.v1
APA Style
Platis, C., Papaioannou, L., Sideri, P., Messaropoulos, P., Chalkias, K., & Kontodimopoulos, N. (2024). Achieving Robust Medical Coding in DRGs Systems: Innovative Actions Adopted in Greece. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1164.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Platis, C., Konstantinos Chalkias and Nikolaos Kontodimopoulos. 2024 "Achieving Robust Medical Coding in DRGs Systems: Innovative Actions Adopted in Greece" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1164.v1
Abstract
This study aims at highlighting and illustrating innovative actions for achieving and/or improving accurate medical coding within a DRG system. Already grouped DRG cases recorded in the first DRG implementation year in the region of Crete were examined. A sample of 130,000, from a total of 200,000, cases were analyzed and audited, through a process consisting of three stages: i) Digitalization, ii) Auditor training, and iii) Control & consultation. The results indicated that a significant proportion of DRG coding, with a length of stay exceeding one day, were reclassified into different DRG categories. This was not primarily due to errors in the selection of the principal diagnosis, but resulted from coding errors, including omission of secondary diagnoses coding, medical procedures that should have been included and utilization of less specific codes. The findings indicate that medical coding control, consulting services and the adoption of targeted actions can be instrumental for proper implementation of the DRG coding system, and for ensuring transparent allocation of resources within hospitals. Ultimately, this shortens the coding learning curve, from four years typically reported in the international literature, to a more efficient duration of two years, leading to rational and documented clinical and financial management of hospitals.
Keywords
Diagnostic Related Group; Coding; Health Systems; Efficiency; Activity Based Funding; Innovation; Digital Platform; Artificial Intelligence
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
