These elements include:
- Self-reported health status
- Functional status
- Principal diagnosis (inpatient)
- Primary diagnosis (inpatient)
- Other diagnoses (inpatient)
- Diagnosis chiefly responsible for services provided (outpatient)
- Other diagnoses (outpatient)
- Patient’s stated reason for visit or chief complaint (outpatient)
Why is it important to have standardized data?
Standardized data sets can serve many purposes in the current and future health care arena. In the evolving managed care field, the need to follow individuals through a continuum of care and at multiple sites will become increasingly necessary. Performance monitoring and outcomes research are two areas that are currently hampered by the inability to link data sets from various sources.
What is the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics?
The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) has undertaken a first step in bringing together leaders in the field to seek consensus on a small set of data elements that are often considered the core of many data collection efforts.
Why is "expired" added to the Outpatient Setting?
Expired has been added because the outpatient setting includes a wide range of sites, including Emergency Departments and ambulatory surgery centers.
What is a provider identifier?
17-23. Health Care Facility and Practitioner Identifiers - Each provider should have a universal unique number across data systems. The National Provider Identifier and National Provider File (NPI/NPF), currently under development by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and intended for implementation in 1997, could and should meet this need, if all providers are included. The NPI/NPF will provide a common means of uniquely identifying health care providers, including institutions, individuals, and group practices, both Medicare providers and those in other programs. Participation in the system will be voluntary for non-HCFA providers at first. Currently some states are using state facility identifiers, but the Committee recommends that these identifiers be superseded by the NPI/NPF.
Why is it important to collect information on medications?
The collection of information on medications is crucial to understanding the health care encounter and the services provided to a patient. The Committee recognizes that not all providers are obtaining this detail, but it is anticipated that these data will be more frequently collected in the near future with the growth of computerized prescription information.
Why is information on multiple diagnoses important?
Information on multiple diagnoses is important for developing severity indexes and assessing resource requirements and use.
Is primary diagnosis part of UHDDS?
The primary diagnosis is not part of the UHDDS, and in most diagnostic situations, the principal and primary diagnoses will be identical. Respondents have indicated a mixed use of this item for inpatients. There is also concern that medical personnel may be confusing the definitions/uses of principal versus primary diagnosis. Some respondents incorrectly interpreted this item as a means of classifying primary site for cancer, utilizing ICD-O (oncology). The NCVHS notes that the Department of Veterans Affairs routinely collects this element, and thus approves the continued inclusion in this core list, pending a review of uses and users of this element.