Accuracy of ICD-10 Diagnostic Codes for Identifying Housing Instability

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821954?utm_term=080524&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8voegNU_XnfdB3KoiHAwEHYOxfaf6S0mASa53KDgWeLF7KS5dju5MCnz2ZcxlPM2HwwDQT2cb_KuDvdK_OkAjqkwxaFg&_hsmi=318823117&utm_source=For_The_Media Doctors have diagnostic codes for housing insecurity. Do they work? There are specific codes related to housing status in the diagnostic system that hospitals use, the ICD-10. The codes identify when someone is dealing with homelessness, inadequate housing, or housing instability. While the presence of a code in somebody’s medical records is a clear indication that they’ve struggled with housing, hospitals may be failing to assign such codes to many people who are struggling, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. Researchers used self-reported housing questionnaire data from more than 14,500 people in Chicago who received care at a Health Care for the Homeless Program, comparing the responses with diagnostic code data on those same people from six local health systems. About 71% of all respondents dealt with housing instability but showed no code in their hospital records. Just 78 people, or 0.5%, were incorrectly categorized the opposite way, with a diagnostic code but no self-reported problems with housing. While the findings indicate a need to increase screening and documentation around housing in hospitals, there is one caveat, the authors write. They didn’t have specific criteria for how much time could exist between when the person took the questionnaire and when they were in the hospital. That being said, most people had had a hospital encounter within six months.