title: Impact of laboratory testing on DRG coding and reimbursement--results of a data base research.
abstract: We filed an Australian data base with about 7 million well-documented clinical cases for comorbidities, which can be proven, supported or excluded by laboratory testing and which have an impact on DRG reimbursement. The result was a list of 123 DRGs being shifted to a higher severity level by documenting one out of 157 complications. For better visualization of the more than 4,000 combinations, we developed a computer program, which allows the laboratory to develop its own diagnostic pathways for these complications in a simple Excel format.
authors.affiliation: University of Muenchen, Trillium GmbH, Grafrath, Germany. ghoffmann@trillium.de
authors.forename: Georg E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schenker
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wilke
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000191:economics*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms