Administrative Memos

200208

FROM: Theodore O. Will, Chief Executive Officer
DATE: Aug 02, 2002
SUBJECT: Coding for Quality - Documentation Tips for the Top Seven DRGs
IPRO CONTACTS:

Renato Estrella, MS, RHIA, Administrator, Health Information Management (HIM), Extension 261

IPRO recently disseminated our "Top Seven DRGs" PEPP project report, a study of the highest volume Prospective Payment System (PPS) DRGs billed in New York State for calendar year 1999 (See PEPP Administrative Memorandum #2002-06, July 5, 2002). As discussed in that report, our preliminary coding validation of a targeted sample of medical records for these top seven DRGs identified a 15.7% coding error rate ranging from a low of 0% for DRG 209 to a high of 37.1% for DRG 089.

Enclosed please find six (6) copies of IPRO's "Coding for Quality" booklets that were developed with the assistance of our Coding Advisory Committee to assist hospitals with their ongoing educational programs and internal auditing and monitoring activities related to the accuracy of DRG assignments and completeness of documentation for the Top Seven DRGs.

We hope you find these booklets useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Renato L. Estrella, HIM Administrator, extension 261.