Validity of the Patients Register in the Study of Morbidity Dealt with by a General Hospital

Abstract

The validity of the patients register, the data source for the Hospital Morbidity Survey (EME-I) published by the National Statistical Institute, is analysed as a means for studying the morbidity in hospitals. We lind that administrative and demographic data is completed for almost al1 admissions while this is not the case for clinical data, where registration varies from 81% of diagnoses to 32% of reasons for discharge. In the study of concordante between discharge diagnosis and clinical history, using the classification of the EMH itself, this only occurs in 58% of cases. This situation would be greatly improved if the register, including the discharge diagnosis, were adequately completed.