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Medical Terminology Coding Systems and Medicolegal Death Investigation Data: Searching for a Standardized Method of Electronic Coding at a Statewide Medical Examiner’s Office *
Author(s) -
Lathrop Sarah L.,
Davis Wayland L.,
Nolte Kurt B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00903.x
Subject(s) - snomed ct , coroner , medical examiner , medical diagnosis , terminology , coding (social sciences) , medical terminology , medical classification , current procedural terminology , medicine , diagnosis code , systematized nomenclature of medicine , medical emergency , medical record , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , pathology , nursing , surgery , environmental health , population , philosophy , linguistics , statistics , mathematics
Medical examiner and coroner reports are a rich source of data for epidemiologic research. To maximize the utility of this information, medicolegal death investigation data need to be electronically coded. In order to determine the best option for coding, we evaluated four different options (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT], International Classification of Disease [ICD] coding, Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms [SNOMED CT], and an in‐house system), then conducted internal and external needs assessments to determine which system best met the needs of a centralized, statewide medical examiner’s office. Although all four systems offer distinct advantages and disadvantages, SNOMED CT is the most accurate for coding pathologic diagnoses, with ICD‐10 the best option for classifying the cause of death. For New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator, the most feasible coding option is an upgrade of an in‐house coding system, followed by linkage to ICD codes for cause of death from the New Mexico Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, and ideally, SNOMED classification of pathologic diagnoses.