Hospital episode statistics: time for clinicians to get involved?

Abstract
Hospital episode statistics contain clinical data. They are used for many purposes, including monitoring activity in the NHS and the allocation of funds. More recently they have been applied to monitoring performance, and it is intended that they will inform consultant appraisal and revalidation.
The validity of hospital episode statistics was questioned by Körner in 1982. Recent publications have shown that problems persist in England and Wales, and that the quality of the data is inadequate for the task. The lack of involvement of clinicians in the process of data collection and validation is no longer acceptable. To rectify the situation there should be a change of process and culture, supported by education and investment. NHS data definitions of terms such as ‘spells’, ‘episodes’ and ‘diagnoses’ need to be reviewed. The development of separate data processes to monitor national service frameworks is regrettable.
- © 2002 Royal College of Physicians
Article Tools
Citation Manager Formats
Jump to section
Related Articles
- No related articles found.
Cited By...
- Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Positive Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients; a multisource Electronic Healthcare Records Study from England
- Rates of self-harm presenting to general hospitals: a comparison of data from the Multicentre Study of Self-Harm in England and Hospital Episode Statistics
- A comparison of the recording of comorbidity in primary and secondary care by using the Charlson Index to predict short-term and long-term survival in a routine linked data cohort
- The death of administrative data for benchmarking cardiothoracic mortality?
- Hospital episode statistics: time for radical change
- The white papers, quality indicators and clinical responsibility
- Monitoring clinical activity and performance: how can hospital episode statistics be made fit for purpose?
- The value of administrative databases
- Gastroenterology services in the UK. The burden of disease, and the organisation and delivery of services for gastrointestinal and liver disorders: a review of the evidence
- A new role for the royal colleges?
- Lies, damned lies and mortality statistics?
- Cardiovascular admissions and mortality in an inception cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with onset in the 1980s and 1990s
- Warfarin for non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation: five year experience in a district general hospital
- Troponin I, laboratory issues, and clinical outcomes in a district general hospital: crossover study with "traditional" markers of myocardial infarction in a total of 1990 patients