Using chief complaint in addition to diagnosis codes to identify falls in the ED

Dr. Brian Patterson et al. compared the incidence of falls in an emergency department cohort using ICD-9 codes and an expanded definition that included chief complaint. Of the falls evaluated in the retrospective electronic health record review, 80% met the ICD-9 definition of a fall-related visit and 61% met the chief-complaint definition. Nearly 20% were missed when applying the ICD-9 definition alone. 

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