Research survey from NHSE about infection coding - Please spare 2 minutes
https://linktr.ee/jakemat91
This is a quick plea to anyone who works in primary care…
Please take 1 min to read this intro about a really important project being conducted by the NHSE team responsible for anti-microbial resistance.
They want to understand what common codes would you use in a patients records to justify prescribing antibiotics (Abx) or for not issuing Abx.
This work will then be used to update NICE guidance, and will hopefully improving the coding of patients records and improve the research that can be done on common infections.
NHS England Infection Diagnosis Digital Coding Survey
Do you work in a primary care setting in England, caring for patients with common acute infections, and enter relevant details in the electronic health record? If so, we would very much welcome your views via this short survey.
Did you know that almost 50% of prescriptions for antibiotics are not associated with a coded indication in the electronic health record? [Gulliford MC 2020] GPs have identified the lack of a shortlist of recommended codes as a barrier to digital coding of infection syndromes.
NHS England has commissioned NECS to develop a shortlist of recommended digital codes for common acute infection syndromes encountered in primary care. Implementation of a shortlist of recommended codes list is expected to bring a number of benefits, including:
Improved patient safety through better communication and continuity of patient care
Accurate information on burden of disease and significant changes over time
More efficient coding, supported by digital systems, to save time for clinicians
Insights into antibiotic prescribing by diagnosis to understand variation in practice
This 10-15 minute survey [https://necs.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/infection-diagnosis-digital-coding-validation-survey] is intended to validate the recommendations of a Clinical and Digital Reference Group that reviewed SNOMED codes for common acute infection syndromes. The survey will be open for two weeks, between Monday 15th January and Friday 26th January 2024.
Also please pass on and share with any primary care colleagues.