Create a report* containing information on your discharges. To simplify the process later on, use the same file format / layout for inpatient and outpatient cases. As much as possible, include:
- Patient ID (unique patient ID – can be same ID across multiple encounters)
- Visit ID (unique visit ID – never duplicated)
- First name
- Last name
- Arrival / visit date
- Arrival / visit time
- Zipcode
- Birth Date
- Sex
- Principal discharge diagnosis
- Other discharge diagnoses
- E&M Codes / ICD codes**
- Hispanic
- Race
- Medicare ID (phasing out)
- Medicare Primary payer (Is Medicare primary payer?)
- Physician ID 1 (optional – not reported)
- Physician ID 2 (optional – not reported)
- Discharge code
- Discharge date
- Inpatient / outpatient flag
- The data file needs to be a computer file with a single encounter on each line.
- It can contain duplicates – HORSE takes care of this.
- Each data point in the file has to be separated from the next one by a comma (comma separated value).
- It is best to save it as a text file or a CSV (comma separated value) file to run through HORSE. If your system only allows Excel output, you will have to open it in excel and save as a CSV or text file with comma separators.
*Resouces: May require help from a quality person familiar with creating reports with your billing system. You may also need to contact your billing data vendor to learn how to create a report of discharges / outpatient visits. This report is an electronic ‘flat’ file – sometimes referred to as an AdHoc report.
**E&M codes needed for Outpatient ED visit identification – CPT Codes: 99281, 99282, 99283, 99284, 99285, 99291