Tool compares severe pregnancy complications across hospitals

Researchers have developed an expanded system for classifying serious maternal complications during hospitalization for childbirth, which can be used to compare severe maternal morbidity rates across hospitals and other patient populations, according to a study reported in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “These scores can be applied in any maternity patient discharge data set with ICD-10-CM diagnosis and procedure codes and may be a useful tool for maternal health research and quality improvement efforts,” the authors said. The National Institutes of Health provided funding for the study.