Coding external causes of injury (E-codes) in Maryland hospital discharges 1979-88: a statewide study to explore the uncoded population.
We examined the trends in hospital discharge E-coding in Maryland over a 10-year period. The overall proportion of E-coded discharges has increased from 40 percent in 1979 to 55 percent in 1988. E-coding was lower in the severely injured, the elderly, and patients with long hospital stays. Our findings demonstrate that E-code reporting varies because of the limited number of data fields available for coding of discharge diagnoses. Universal, systematic reporting of E-codes in hospital discharge data is essential if these data are to provide critically needed information about nonfatal injuries. Hospital discharge data formats should contain separate fields for E-codes and the use of these codes, we believe, should be mandated.
Marganitt
B
B
Health Services Research and Development Center, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.
MacKenzie
E J
EJ
Smith
G S
GS
Damiano
A M
AM
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007902:Length of Stay; D008396:Maryland; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification*