Importance of coding co-morbidities for APR-DRG assignment: Focus on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Journal: Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia
Published Date:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The All Patient-Refined Diagnosis-Related Groups (APR-DRGs) system has adjusted the basic DRG structure by incorporating four severity of illness (SOI) levels, which are used for determining hospital payment. A comprehensive report of all relevant diagnoses, namely the patient's underlying co-morbidities, is a key factor for ensuring that SOI determination will be adequate.

Authors

  • Julio Souza
    Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Portugal.
  • João Vasco Santos
    Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Portugal.
  • Veronica Bolon Canedo
    Faculty of Informatics of the University of A Coruña, Spain.
  • Amparo Betanzos
    Faculty of Informatics of the University of A Coruña, Spain.
  • Domingos Alves
    CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Portugal.
  • Alberto Freitas
    Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Portugal.