Completely agree. Also, ICDs A400-A419 are outdated, focusing on causative organism rather than syndrome and avoiding the use of the term 'sepsis'...
Ron On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:09 PM, Hess, Dr. Donald < [email protected]> wrote: > ** > > After reading a recent article in the April 4, 2012 issue of JAMA > (Lindauer PK, et al, Association of Diagnostic Coding With Trends in > Hospitalizations and Mortality of Patients With Pneumonia, 2003-2009 - > http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/307/13/1405.full), I decided to look at > my institution’s administrative data regarding the number of > hospitalizations in the past 4 years that were coded with the ICD9# for > either sepsis or severe sepsis as the primary diagnosis. There were none. > Zero. I have long suspected that one obstacle to diagnosing sepsis or > severe sepsis is that most physicians (and perhaps coders, too) regard it > as a secondary diagnosis. That sepsis is always secondary to something > else…not a primary diagnosis that represents a final common pathway due to > a number of different causes. There are likely a number of other cognitive > factors related to the avoidance of diagnosing sepsis and severe sepsis as > a primary diagnosis. But evidently physicians & coders at other > institutions are doing it. I look forward to your comments. **** > > Regards, **** > > Dr. **Don Hess** **** > > ** ** > > _______________________________________________ > Sepsisgroups mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sepsisgroups.org/listinfo.cgi/sepsisgroups-sepsisgroups.org > > -- Dr Ron Daniels CEO: Global Sepsis Alliance Chair: United Kingdom Sepsis Group Principal Trustee: U.K Sepsis Trust Founding Director: Survive Sepsis Fellow: NHS Improvement Faculty *Suspect Sepsis: save someone's life today. * *Join us for World Sepsis Day on September 13th<http://www.globalsepsisalliance.org/> Twitter: @sepsisuk * * *
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