Blaschke V, Brauns B, Khaladj N, Schmidt C, Emmert S. [Increased revenues from secondary diagnoses : A comparison from dermatology, ophthalmology, and infectious diseases].
Hautarzt 2019;
69:510-515. [PMID:
29487961 DOI:
10.1007/s00105-018-4143-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Hospital revenues generated by diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are in part dependent on the coding of secondary diagnoses. Therefore, more and more hospitals trust specialized coders with this task, thereby relieving doctors from time-consuming administrative burdens and establishing a highly professionalized coding environment. However, it is vastly unknown if the revenues generated by the coders do indeed exceed their incurred costs.
METHODS
Coding data from the departments of dermatology, ophthalmology, and infectious diseases from Rostock University Hospital from 2007-2016 were analyzed for the effects of secondary diagnoses on the resulting DRG, i. e., hospital charges.
RESULTS
Ophthalmological case were highly resistant to the addition of secondary diagnoses. In contrast, adding secondary diagnoses to cases from infectious diseases resulted in 15% higher revenues. Although dermatological and infectious cases share the same sensitivity to secondary diagnoses, higher revenues could only rarely be realized in dermatology, probably owing to a younger, less multimorbid patient population.
CONCLUSION
Except for ophthalmology, trusting specialized coders with clinical coding generates additional revenues through the coding of secondary diagnoses which exceed the costs for employing these coders.
Collapse