
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wilke, Michael H 
A1  - Schenker, Mike 
A1  - Hoffmann, George 
T1  - Detection and documentation of DRG-relevant comorbidities using laboratory tests
JF  - Australian Health Review
JO  - Aust. Health Review
Y1  - 2002
VL  - 25
IS  - 3
SP  - 152
EP  - 160
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/AH020152 
N2  - Germany will soon begin per case payment by DRG, and preparations are in progress in most hospitals and insurance companies. The Academic Teaching Hospital Munich-Schwabing in Munich decided to explore coding strategies by considering the impact of diagnoses that could be detected by pathology An Australian database was analysed. We detected "discriminating'diagnoses - that is, diagnoses that could be found in level A or B DRGs, and not in the respective lower severity DRG. After isolating 584 diagnoses, they were rated by a laboratory specialist, to determine whether they could be proved by pathology tests. 187 diagnoses were selected in this way. In the next step, theoretical cases were generated and grouped. 157 diagnoses were found to produce a switch to a higher DRG. The diagnoses, the DRGs and the respective laboratory tests were then arranged in a small MS-Excel program to allow comfortable browsing. The overall success rate of 84% shows that laboratory medicine can contribute to correct coding for DRGs. 
ER  -

