Accuracy of medical records in hip fracture.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the accuracy of diagnoses and procedure codes in medical records for hip fracture patients.


METHODS
A validation sample of hip fracture medical records was used to compare the facesheet data with progress notes, operative reports, and discharge summaries for patients in a prospective study of functional recovery.


METHODS
Eight Baltimore hospitals with the highest volume of older hip fracture patients.


METHODS
Study subjects were 343 community-dwelling patients, 65 years of age and older, admitted to one of eight Baltimore hospitals between January 1990 and June 1991 with a diagnosis of hip fracture.


METHODS
Facesheet diagnosis codes were compared with admitting notes, discharge summary, and/or progress notes. The abstracted surgical procedure was compared with postoperative radiographs.


RESULTS
Excess coding of diagnoses on the hospital facesheet was evident in 12% of charts. In 17% of charts, a complication identified in the chart was not coded on the facesheet. More complications with low severity were omitted. Agreement between the abstractor's procedure review and radiograph readings for arthroplasty was 84%. In 15% of patients, the abstractor coded total arthroplasty when hemiarthroplasty was done.


CONCLUSIONS
Discrepancy between the hospital facesheet and the medical record and between the abstracted surgical procedure and radiographs was found for hip fracture patients. This may make findings from health outcomes research relying on administrative databases uncertain and reimbursement inaccurate.
Fox
K M
KM
University of Maryland at Baltimore, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, USA.
Reuland
M
M
Hawkes
W G
WG
Hebel
J R
JR
Hudson
J
J
Zimmerman
S I
SI
Kenzora
J
J
Magaziner
J
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008501:Medical Records, Problem-Oriented / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016896:Treatment Outcome