At 07:15 on 19/8/96, Mary Hawking wrote:
> could I butt in on this thread?
> Mary
> PS if it *isn't* possible to convert accurately,term-to-term , - and I'd
> agree it may not be - what am I supposed to do with at least 4 years of
> coded data.. plus all the summaries? :.< (how do you do sobs in a
> smiley?)
>
I don't know about the smiley, but..
I know for sure that coding without knowing why is leading NOWHERE.
A couple of years ago I had a nice conversation with Larry Weed (the
problem oriented one). He talked about all the coding they did for quite
some time. Only to discover that all was in vain, almost.
The coding was very aspecific surving no well defined objective.
No Question resulted in NO ANSWER.
Conclusion: Any coding must serve a specific purpose.
I use coding (ICPC) to help me sort out all the different consultations.
The coding gives me a quick insight of what kind of topics were discussed
and what the main =most significant 'diagnosis' could be attatched to the
consultation. Or it taggs letters sent or received so at a glance I can see
what's the main topic written about.
In an other discussion with a co-ordinator of a coding effort with GP's he
told about all the problems to reduce interocoder variation. And the coding
they did was for a very small selection of patients!
Good luck! Sod,sod
Gerard Freriks,huisarts, MD
C. Sterrenburgstr 54
3151JG Hoek van Holland
the Netherlands (31) 174-384296/ Fax: -386249
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