Improving the quality of the coding of primary diagnosis in standardized discharge summaries.

We propose to design and test an information-processing model to participate in appraising the quality and the consistency of the coding, for billing, of Standardized Discharge Summaries (SDSs). We designed a model using both symbolic knowledge extracted from the NLM's UMLS and statistical knowledge. The aim is to retrieve from the ICD-10 terms recorded in a SDS the Principal Diagnosis (PD) at the time of coding. In 90% of cases the PD was retrieved 1st or 2nd in SDS including three ICD-10 codes or more. This model could contribute as part of an automated quality control process in a hospital information system by checking consistency in coded SDSs and improve the income of the hospital.