Position statement on HCFA's Uniform Clinical Data Set (UCDS). American Health Information Management Association.
The Uniform Clinical Data Set (UCDS) is a computerized data collection and case finding system that has been developed by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). It is a new mechanism for the screening by peer review organizations (PROs) of inpatient cases for utilization and quality of care problems. The intent is to replace the traditional PRO review process with a collection of a standard set of data about each hospitalization, subject that data to an expert system, and provide to the physician reviewer a case summary that reflects the specific areas which are being questioned and highlights the issues that need to be addressed. The goal is to select cases for review in each state by the identical standards, thus eliminating the differences in PRO review results attributable to individual judgment. HCFA plans to use the abstracted clinical data to evaluate patterns of care and outcomes. However, the UCDS system may have impact beyond the Medicare program. UCDS may become a template for the collection and analysis of data by hospitals and third-party payers for quality and effectiveness review of all patients.
D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards*; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000592:standards*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011366:Professional Review Organizations; D012952:Societies; D014481:United States