Coding errors: a comparative analysis of hospital and prospectively collected departmental data.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the accuracy of a hospital coding database at a busy tertiary referral urological unit.


METHODS
Prospectively collected departmental coding data for all urological patients attending the Churchill Hospital, Oxford between 1 May 1999 and 30 April 2000 were compared with the coding data entered by hospital coding clerks on the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust database.


RESULTS
There were significant discrepancies between the number of patients on the hospital and the departmental database (639 vs 1109). There were gross procedural coding errors in 74 cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Hospital-coded data in this study were incomplete and inaccurate. This has important implications when considering the validity of hospital-trust databases when used as a source for medical research, clinical audit and as a representation of a consultants' clinical workload.
Khwaja
H A
HA
Department of Urological Surgery, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Syed
H
H
Cranston
D W
DW
D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards*; D006753:Hospital Records / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012015:Reference Standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014573:Urology Department, Hospital / Q000592:standards*