Stop the Bleed Texas Coalition Data Workgroup Update

The Stop the Bleed Texas Coalition has been working with local champions and stakeholders from across the state in order to improve outcomes for Texans who may suffer a life-threatening bleeding event. As a result of the discussions from the Data Workgroup led by Mr. Brett Dodwell from Memorial Hermann in Houston, TX, it was determined that there needed to be a uniform manner of observing tourniquet application data. There are 16 ICD-10 PCS Codes that were identified. ICD-10 Procedure Coding System is a method that is used across the globe as a universal convention of identifying procedures.

Below is the list of Codes and their corresponding description. You can see from the definitions that the Codes are very precise.

STB Texas Coalition Data Workgroup

Tourniquet Project Procedure Codes
  ICD10 PCS Code Definition
1 2W18X7Z Compression of Right Upper Extremity using Intermittent Pressure Device
2 2W19X7Z Compression of Left Upper Extremity using Intermittent Pressure Device
3 2W1AX7Z Compression of Right Upper Arm using Intermittent Pressure Device
4 2W1BX7Z Compression of Left Upper Arm using Intermittent Pressure Device
5 2W1CX7Z Compression of Right Lower Arm using Intermittent Pressure Device
6 2W1DX7Z Compression of Left Lower Arm using Intermittent Pressure Device
7 2W1EX7Z Compression of Right Hand using Intermittent Pressure Device
8 2W1FX7Z Compression of Left Hand using Intermittent Pressure Device
9 2W1LX7Z Compression of Right Lower Extremity using Intermittent Pressure Device
10 2W1MX7Z Compression of Left Lower Extremity using Intermittent Pressure Device
11 2W1NX7Z Compression of Right Upper Leg using Intermittent Pressure Device
12 2W1PX7Z Compression of Left Upper Leg using Intermittent Pressure Device
13 2W1QX7Z Compression of Right Lower Leg using Intermittent Pressure Device
14 2W1RX7Z Compression of Left Lower Leg using Intermittent Pressure Device
15 2W1SX72 Compression of Right Foot using Intermittent Pressure Device
16 2W1TX7Z Compression of Left Foot using Intermittent Pressure Device

 

Why are there so many? At a glance it looks like this could have been accomplished by simply asking, “was a tourniquet applied?” However, coding conventions demand that more precise procedure codes define the body region, whether it was left or right, and what type of procedure was performed. Also, because this type of coding is already being performed at all hospitals no additional work will go into creating a new process. In this way, we can avoid duplicating efforts or creating parallel processes that could potentially cause more work for people already busy with day to day operations.

It may take some time to get robust data but now it’s no longer a question of “if” but rather “when”.