- Status:
- Preprint
- Posted:
Uptake of service specific codes for the COVID oximetry @Home Pulse Oximetry service: an analysis of 57 million patients' primary care records using OpenSAFELY
This study investigated clinical coding used to support remote pulse oximetry services, with breakdown by regional, clinical and demographic subgroups.
Abstract
Background NHS England guidance was issued in November 2020 for use of COVID Oximetry @home (informally named CO@h) to detect early deterioration of patients with COVID-19 in primary and community care settings.
Methods With the approval of NHS England we conducted a retrospective cohort study between 4th October 2020 and 10th July 2021, using the primary care records for 57 million people registered at an English general practice. We identified patients with pulse oximetry coding (either specific CO@H codes or non-specific COPD005 codes) and described their characteristics.
Results We identified 18,473 individuals with a CO@h code, and 1,581,665 with a non-specific COPD005 code related to pulse oximetry. Recording of CO@h codes varied according to patient demographics, region and practice software system (58.3 per 100,000 in TPP vs 13.2 in EMIS).
Conclusion Our study shows that whilst CO@h codes were used in GP records, use of less specific COPD005 codes instead of new SNOMED CT codes for CO@h may have persisted.
- Colm Andrews,
- Chris Wood,
- Louis Fisher,
- Helen Curtis,
- Will Hulme,
- Amir Mehrkhar,
- Rebecca Smith,
- David Evans,
- Tom Ward,
- Simon Davy,
- Peter Inglesby,
- Iain Dillingham,
- Steven Maude,
- Thomas O'Dwyer,
- Ben Butler-Cole,
- Lucy Bridges,
- Chris Bates,
- Jonathan Cockburn,
- Shaun O’Hanlon,
- Dima Avramov,
- Richard Jarvis,
- Alex J Walker,
- Ben Goldacre,
- Brian MacKenna,
- Seb Bacon