A validation study: how effective is the Hospital Morbidity Data as a surveillance tool for heart failure in Western Australia?
OBJECTIVE
To determine the accuracy of the hospital discharge coding of heart failure (HF) in the Western Australian (WA) Hospital Morbidity Data (HMD).


METHODS
A retrospective medical chart review of a sample of 1,006 patients with a principal diagnosis code indicating HF in the WA HMD was undertaken. Validation was reported against a written diagnosis of HF in the medical chart and using Boston criteria score as a gold standard.


RESULTS
The positive predictive value (PPV) of the HMD coding of HF as the principal diagnosis was 99.5% when compared to the medical chart diagnosis and 92.4% when compared to the Boston score criteria for 'definite' HF and 98.8% for a combined 'possible' and 'definite' HF Boston score.


CONCLUSIONS
With the high predictive accuracy, the WA HMD can be used with confidence to monitor trends in the epidemiology of in-hospital HF patients.
Teng
Tiew-Hwa Katherine
TH
School of Population Heath, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. kteng@meddent.uwa.edu.au
Finn
Judith
J
Hung
Joseph
J
Geelhoed
Elizabeth
E
Hobbs
Michael
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control / Q000592:standards; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D009017:Morbidity; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology