CC Uses

The Importance of Clinical Coding

There is a really good document written by Blackpool NHS Trust which states "There is wide recognition in the National Health Service (NHS) of the importance of good quality Coded Clinical Data and the fundamental role it plays in the management of hospitals and services. The government’s introduction of a National Performance Framework has created a mechanism whereby NHS Trusts will be judged on accurate results. Clinical data must be accurately and consistently recorded to well defined national standards to enable it to be used for statistical analysis. Information drawn from accurate clinical coding better reflects the pattern of practice of clinicians and provides a sound basis for the decision making process. The use of tools such as Clinical Indictors pushes forward the need for accurately and consistently recorded clinical information. Such information should be produced as part of the regular activity within a hospital provider unit. Steps to ensure that this is the case should include audit of clinical coded data and the comprehensive training of those responsible for the classification of such information. Healthcare information at local and national level is crucial to support management, planning and monitoring of health services."

Reference https://www.blackpoolclinicalcoding.nhs.uk/index.php/the-importance-of-clinical-coding/

In Wales all our Coded Data gets uploaded weekly into the Patient Episode Database of Wales (PEDW), and it is used by Welsh Government to plan NHS services for the whole of Wales. This directly affects everyone of us living in Wales and can have a direct effect on which wards are closed or enlarged. The data is also used for freedom of Information Requests for media outlets and for Clinician who are researching the number and types of procedure that are performed or on the general health of population.

As ICD-10 is an Internationally recognised classification we can compare levels of disease and ill health with other countries that use the classification.

COVID

Never has Clinical Coding come under such scrutiny by both English and Welsh Governments. It is only due to the recording of COVID and other co-morbidities that they are able to work out which patients are more likely to survive COVID. Also now the hospitals are finding that patients are being admitted with long COVID

We are definitely not out of the woods yet

what happens to all these codes????

The Importance of Clinical Coding

COVID

Additional Reading