BMJ  2003;326 (24 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7399.0-e

Diabetic patients' records are missing the C10 Read code

General practices need to use a wide range of codes to identify people with diabetes, as not all diabetic patients have the C10 Read code recorded in their computerised medical records. Gray and colleagues (p 1130) found that in one primary care group in south London only 63% of patients known to have diabetes were identified through the C10 Read code for diabetes.

The rest were identified through prescription records and other diabetes related codes. The authors say that the use of Read codes for diabetes needs to be standardised and coding levels improved if valid diabetes registers are to be constructed and the quality of care monitored effectively.

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Relevant Article

Use of Read codes in diabetes management in a south London primary care group: implications for establishing disease registers

Jeremy Gray, Douglas Orr, and Azeem Majeed
BMJ 2003 326: 1130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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