Multiple Encounter

Patients may show up in our database repeatedly. Because our records are patient-ward-stay based, we do not have an inherent link to reflect this.

For patients encountered repeatedly some data should be consistent between stays. The data processor runs a set of checks during vetting that attempts to find and make consistent the records for patients encountered previously. See which article?

If a patient is never discharged in between encounters, patient may be a Continuous Stay. See that article for definitions.

If a patient is discharged and then admitted again at a later time, but soon after the last hospital stay, they may qualify as Re-admission. See that article for definitions.

Terminology and definitions

temporary parking during clean-up

Encounter vs admission vs record

• Continuous Admission: patients that move between ICU's and wards within their own center or to other centers in the city during the same hospital admission. (Trish)
• New encounter: when a patient is discharged from the hospital system in the city back to the community and he then returns to the hospital from the community (generally through the ER), this is a new encounter to the hospital system in the city. (Trish)
  • So, does "same encounter" mean the same as "same hospital admission"? We really can't use that since we don't collect on all wards. I was asking Julie about this before, but we didn't finish the discussion. Ttenbergen 14:53, 29 October 2008 (CDT)
    • Isn't this going off onto a tangent? Depend on how you are looking at the data. Same encounter to one hospital or same encounter to hospital system in the city or new encounter to a hospital or new encounter to the hospital system in the city.
      • We are using the terms, and I need to be sure we are all using them in the same way. I don't think that's a tangent, is it? We are using "encounter" to mean different things at different times.Ttenbergen 14:24, 30 October 2008 (CDT)

Need to address

• check for inconsistencies like brain dead and ARF