Reliability of reporting nosocomial infections in the discharge abstract and implications for receipt of revenues under prospective reimbursement.

Proper reporting of discharge diagnoses, including complications of medical care, is essential for maximum recovery of revenues under the prospective reimbursement system. To evaluate the effectiveness of abstracting techniques in identifying nosocomial infections at discharge, discharge abstracts of patients with nosocomial infections were reviewed during September through November of 1984. Patients with nosocomial infections were identified using modified Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definitions and trained surveillance technicians. Records which did not include the diagnosis of nosocomial infections in the discharge abstract were identified, and potential lost revenues were estimated. We identified 631 infections in 498 patients. On average, only 57 per cent of the infections were properly recorded and coded in the discharge abstract. Of the additional monies which might be anticipated by the health care institution to assist in the cost of care of adverse events, approximately one-third would have been lost due to errors in coding in the discharge abstract. Although these lost revenues are substantial, they constitute but a small proportion of the potential costs to the institution when patients acquire nosocomial infections.     

Profile of denials of durable medical equipment for SCI patients by third party payers

The difficulty in obtaining approval for payment of durable medical equipment by third party payers has impeded the rehabilitation program and discharge planning of many spinal cord patients throughout the country for many years. To gain some insight as to the number and level of patients affected, the kinds of equipment denied, the reasons given for the denial, which third party payers were mostly involved and how the patient and his/her family managed to cope or resolve this problem, a survey was undertaken. Letters were sent to 259 members of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) asking them to list representative cases where requests for equipment deemed necessary were denied. Twenty-eight responses from different institutions were received from sixteen states describing 110 patients and 180 pieces of durable medical equipment denied in 1984 and 1985. Manual wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, shower/commode chairs, and environmental control units were the four most common equipment items denied by the third party payers. Government agencies ie., Medicaid, Medicare, Vocational Rehabilitation Departments and State Crippled Children's Services were the most frequent deniers, comprising 54% of the total sample. They were followed by private insurance (31%) and Workman's Compensation (3%). By far, the two most common reasons given for denials were: it was not covered by the insurance policy (38%) and it was not medically necessary (30%). Ninety (90) pieces of equipment (50%) were eventually obtained, most often by charity, or through the patient's family resources.     

Uroscopy in the 21st century: high-field NMR spectroscopy

From the experiments described, it can be seen that there are different research approaches that can be taken and these are summarized in Table 1. Whereas much scientific research is principally hypothesis led, there remains, nevertheless, an important place for exploratory research. High resolution NMR can measure, directly and simultaneously, a wide range of endogenous metabolites in biological fluids and has the unique capability of providing structural information on the metabolites detected. It has proved to be a powerful research tool with which to study inherited metabolic diseases, renal disease, drug metabolism, and toxicity, and can be used to monitor the effects of drug therapy. For instance, by using a library of experimental toxins one can map the metabolic profile of site-specific nephron injury. With this approach in man one could eventually take an unknown disease such as Balkan nephropathy and predict the initial site of tubular injury, the mode of injury and therefore the kind of toxin capable of producing that injury. NMR spectroscopic techniques are still advancing rapidly, with ever increasing sensitivity and sophistication of NMR pulse sequences to enhance structural elucidation in complex mixtures. Given the advances in directly coupled HPLC-NMR and even HPLC-NMR-mass spectroscopy it is likely that these technologies in conjunction with pattern recognition will make major contribution to our understanding of renal processes and provide new diagnostic insights in the 21st century.      

Decision support in psychiatry – a comparison between the diagnostic outcomes using a computerized decision support system versus manual diagnosis

Background  

Correct diagnosis in psychiatry may be improved by novel diagnostic procedures. Computerized Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are suggested to be able to improve diagnostic procedures, but some studies indicate possible problems. Therefore, it could be important to investigate CDSS systems with regard to their feasibility to improve diagnostic procedures as well as to save time.     

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of a mammary cystic hypersecretory carcinoma

Cystic hypersecretory carcinoma (CHC) is a rare variant of intraductal carcinoma. A CHC in a 50-year-old woman was excised and processed for light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The tumor had a marked cystic appearance. The walls of the cysts consisted of epithelial and myoepithelial cells and a well-developed basement membrane. The epithelial cells contained well-developed rough-surfaced endoplasmatic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Secretory granules were not detected, with the exception of a few mucus-producing cells. The secretion was predominantly homogenous, reminiscent of thyroid colloid, and demonstrated distinct PAS positivity. The cells displayed a strong labeling with epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and EMA-positive structures were observed within the intraluminal secretion, too. Some of these were stained by alcian blue. In addition, the colloid-like material was admixed with mucus showing a filamentous internal structure and lipid droplets resulting in some heterogenity of the secretion. Intraductal micropapillary proliferation in some of the cysts and adjacent nondistended ducts was a further defining feature of the tumor. Steroid hormone receptor and Ki-67 proliferation marker immuno his Tochemistry showed scattered positivity among the tumor cells. These results are in agreement with previous observations and further clarify the nature of this low-grade in situ cancer.     

B超诊断老年性白内障及合并症价值

０引言老年性白内障严重影响着老年人的生活质量．手术是根治本病的最佳方法．现将我院１９９８－０１～１９９８－１１经Ｂ超检查并经手术证实的１２９例,共２５８只眼,２２３只老年性白内障的结果及声像图特点报告如下．旨在探讨Ｂ超在诊断该病中的应用价值及对手术的...