Abstract
Diagnostic Procedure Combination (DPC) indices have substantial effects on revenue in Japanese medical institutions. There are a few indices in the DPC code system but this study focuses specifically on coverage rates. Results of an analysis of nationwide data on the number of beds and coverage rate indices showed that hospitals with more beds tended to have higher coverage rates. However, across hospitals with the same number of beds, coverage rate indices appeared to vary. Comparing our hospital’s selection rates of secondary disease names with national selection rates, we found some diagnosis categories with low selection rates. Therefore, in efforts to enhance the coverage rate indices, we sought to improve the selection rates of secondary disease names and optimize DPC coding. After initiating these measures, our coverage rate indices rose, but changes over the past 5 years have not been statistically significant. Therefore, it is necessary to continue these efforts to avoid a decline in coverage rate indices.
