£1bn potentially incorrectly charged by NHS due to poor data

Audit Commission finds NHS data quality improving, but still inconsistent

The Audit Commission has released its findings on NHS data quality

Independent watchdog the Audit Commission has looked at more than £200m-worth of treatment bills since 2007, and found serious discrepancies in the accuracy of clinical coding between trusts.

Of this amount, £9m-worth, almost five per cent, of financial errors have been spotted, the Commission stated in a report, Improving data quality in the NHS, released today.

The Commission carried out random sample audits on four specialties (trauma and orthopaedics, general medicine, cardiology and paediatrics) at relevant trusts, to provide a wider picture across the NHS in England.

The Commission estimates that out of the £21bn paid since 2007 for treatments in these areas, £1bn was incorrectly paid because of wrong data.

Despite this, the Commission found that the accuracy of clinical coding was improving overall.

It said that the average clinical coding error rate dropped from 16 per cent to 11 per cent in three years, leaving further room for improvement. It found medical record keeping to be especially in need of improvement.

“It's reassuring that the NHS is getting better at clinical coding,” said Andy McKeon, managing director, health, at the Audit Commission.

“Efficiency is more important than ever and accurate clinical coding under payment by results will contribute to better data, better decisions and better outcomes for patients.

“But the variation in error rates from trust to trust is a concern. There are clear ways in which trusts can improve and we'll be focusing our 2010/11 clinical coding audits on the trusts that most need help.”

The Commission also found that although the accuracy gap between the best and worst trusts had narrowed, it was still too high, ranging from zero to 28 per cent.

The report went on to state that clinical coding staff are now better trained. It recommended that trusts should perform their own regular internal audits on clinical coding.

It concluded that poor medical records continue to be error-strewn, representing a clinical as well as financial risk.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Despite continued improvements in the accuracy of coding in the NHS, there is room for further improvement. The NHS needs to make £15-20bn of efficiency savings by 2014 - reducing payment by results coding errors will make sure that trusts receive appropriate payment for the treatments they provide, and will help contribute towards greater efficiency."