Procedural Classifications Systems International: Case mix foundation conference in Iceland

Jan. 18, 2023 / By Felisha Bochantin

The 35th annual PCSI conference was held in the “Land of Fire and Ice,” Iceland. The island sits on the mid-Atlantic ridge and is separated by the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. These plates are in constant movement, thus creating an estimated 10,000 or more earthquakes a year.  

This year’s conference theme was “Case mix as a foundation for sustainable health management,” and researchers, analysts, clinicians and governmental officials from around the world gathered to listen and learn. 3M HIS Director of International Business Dr. Thilo Koepfer gave a speech and I presented on case mix roles in U.S. hospital complication​ and readmission reduction efforts with Dr. Sandeep Wadhwa, 3M HIS chief medical officer of global health care. I also provided a presentation on the dynamic shift of inpatient procedures to outpatient settings. The presentation was well received, and we soon realized that we hit a topic of concern, with several representatives from various countries interested in learning how they can be successful in this shift in care. 

We also listened to several other exciting presentations around case mix in elder care, the development of the oral case mix system, case mix classification for ambulance services and the ambulatory classification system methodology.  

We enjoyed keynote speakers, including Robert Jakob, World Health Organization (WHO) team leader of ICD-11 Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (MMS), International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). He spoke about the work that his clinical team is performing around the WHO’s introduction of a diagnosis related group (DRG) that will be used for benchmarking purposes only, as well as the fundamental use of ICD-11 ICHI procedural classification.  

We heard very interesting keynotes from María Heimisdottir, MD, Ph.D., MBA, CEO of Icelandic Health Insurance, on health care sustainability. Jeffery Stensland, principal policy analyst, MedPAC, presented on Medicare hospital payment policy and Jason Sutherland, professor at the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR), spoke about designing for sustainability and seeking more value from spending and improving health outcomes.  

As a part of the conference, prizes are awarded to those who submit papers and posters and present on case mix. A panel of scientific committee members reviews these submissions and decide the best in class for each presentation. 

The best paper was awarded to Eileen Robertson, Patrick McElduff, Jim Pearse, Susan Mitchell and Owen Cho (Australia) for “Building a sustainable workforce: Using clinical data to inform workforce planning.” The best poster was awarded to Hercules Dalianis (Sweden), Taridzo Chomutare, Andrius Budrionis and Therese Olsen Svenning (Norway) for “Clin Code – computer-assisted clinical ICD-10 coding for improving efficiency and quality in health care.” The best presentation of case mix innovation was presented to Elena Bleibtreu, Irene Salvi and Alexander Geissler (Switzerland) for “Admission discharge and charge management and related cost differences of dementia patients in Swiss psychiatric hospitals.”

The greatest takeaway from the conference was that there is a particular need for programs that elevate and establish clinical documentation integrity. This impression did not discriminate by country, but was a consistent theme in a number of the country-specific presentations. I admired the work the Nordic team is dedicating to assist the WHO in developing ICD-11, along with a presentation regarding the Swiss DRG’s newly defined tariff structure for the remuneration of inpatient rehabilitation in Switzerland.

We were greatly supported by our 3M HIS international team member from the United Kingdom, Zo Tabrez, sales operations manager, and our 3M HIS international team from Belgium, Dr. Elric Verbruggen and Dr. Marrten Lambrecht. Together we thank the Icelandic Ministry of Health for holding such a great conference! 

Felisha Bochantin is an international health information manager with 3M Health Information Systems.