Inaccuracies in EHR (electronic health record) problem list–based comorbidity data can lead to incorrect determinations of case mix, according to a study that took place at two southern California Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers.
For the study, researchers compared EHR problem list–based comorbidity assessment with manual review of EHR free-text notes in terms of sensitivity and specificity for identification of major comorbidities and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores. The CCI contains 19 categories of comorbidity and predicts the 10-year mortality for patients who may have a range of co-morbid conditions.