Search results

Coding clinical work should allow accurate and precise methods of assessing individual or department activity. The NHS financial reforms have increased correct diagnostic coding importance by introducing “payment by results” so that funding is directly linked to patient activity. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of procedure codes (OPCS 4.4), and its effect on Healthcare Resource Group tariff codes that directly affect revenue.

A total of ten procedures from ten consultants were randomly selected over one month. Each consultant coded his or her own procedures. From these codes, Healthcare Resource Group tariff codes were assigned to each patient. These were compared with procedure and Healthcare Resource Group tariff codes generated by coding department staff.

Of 100 procedures, four were un‐coded by coding department staff. There was concordance in 35 per cent of cases. Coders only gave one code for each procedure, whereas 35 per cent of procedures coded by consultants were assigned multiple codes. This resulted in 27 per cent of cases generating a different Healthcare Resource Group tariff code. Of the cases, five resulted in a difference of £4,000 or more; however, the overall difference was a £3,367 revenue loss if coder's codes were used.

Study numbers were limited to 100 with five cases showing excessive financial gain or loss significantly influencing the overall result.

Present procedure coding practice is inaccurate and results in Healthcare Resource Group tariff codes that do not accurately represent clinical activity and productivity. Under payment by results, this can result in a significant revenue loss and possibly ultimately future referrals. Therefore, coding practice needs to be improved as a matter of urgency. Arguably, this could be achieved by closer communication between coders and clinicians.

The paper identifies a flaw in the way clinical activity and productivity is assessed at present. This is fundamental to the process on which “payment by results” is based, and therefore must be addressed if trusts are to be financially successful.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are a type of controlled vocabulary used by business searchers when searching for corporate and industry data. Two four‐digit versions of the SIC coding scheme are used on business databases available through Dialog. Some Dialog database producers have opted to create a variation of the codes for use in their products. With the impending eight‐digit SIC coding scheme from Dun and Bradstreet, it will become increasingly difficult for the Dialog searcher to know which version of the codes to use when searching a particular database. A survey of the use of SIC codes in business databases on Dialog was undertaken. This paper presents the findings of this survey.

To discuss the application of direct part marking identification (DPMI) using 2D matrix codes, the use of which is increasing in industries as diverse as automotive and medical instruments.Design/methodology/approach – The benefits of 2D codes are explained, emphasising that they have sufficient storage capacity to provide data for tracking a part during its manufacture and through the supply chain and allow traceability throughout its lifetime. It describes the operation of Cognex, one of the leading manufacturers of ID products and also the world's largest supplier of machine vision systems is Cognex. It explains that initially the electronics industry exploited Cognex' code reading technology and an application at a German board manufacturer is described. Another system, at a diesel engine injector manufacturer in France, has 42 Cognex systems reading 2D codes and guiding robots in assembly. Also described is a new range of Cognex hand‐held and fixed‐mount 1D and 2D code readers “loaded” with software that allows reading in difficult conditions and with degraded or partially obscured codes.Findings – The DPMI market has expanded into industries other than automotive, which has prompted Cognex to establish a new division of ID products.Originality/value – The paper emphasises the importance of 2D codes in product traceability and indicates how vision technology is being utilised to read these codes even under difficult conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the final version of the Remuneration Code, published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in December 2010, which deals with remuneration in the financial services industry and incorporates requirements contained in the latest version of the European Union (EU) Capital Requirements Directive (CRD3).

The paper gives an overview of the Code, focusing on its scope; the deadlines for compliance; the constraints on variable remuneration; the proportional application of the Code through the division of businesses covered by the Code into four tiers, each with different compliance requirements; and voiding provisions – i.e. provisions which render certain contractual terms on variable remuneration void if they breach Code requirements. It also summarizes the related and new obligations on disclosure of remuneration, which were published by the FSA at the same time as the Code.

The overriding objective of the Code is to ensure that remuneration policies, procedures and practices do not undermine effective risk management.

Now the details have been published and deadlines for compliance set, it is imperative that those in the financial services industry with UK operations, whether in the UK or elsewhere, start taking steps straightaway to ensure that their remuneration policies, practices and procedures are compliant with the new regulatory regime.

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers.

Massive bar coding projects require a great deal of planning and preparation, and usually involve most of a library's staff. The swift and efficient execution of the project is paramount. While a large‐scale bar coding project can be intimidating, detailed planning can prevent hours of anxiety and the need for crisis management. This article attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of the relevant issues for a successful bar coding project. Selecting bar codes, planning and structuring a project, calculating time estimates, and maintaining staff morale are presented in detail. A selected bibliography provides access to more information.

Research has so far not approached the contents of corporate code of ethics from a strategic classification point of view. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to introduce and describe a framework of classification and empirical illustration to provide insights into the strategic approaches of corporate code of ethics content within and across contextual business environments.

The paper summarizes the content analysis of code prescription and the intensity of codification in the contents of 78 corporate codes of ethics in Australia.

The paper finds that, generally, the studied corporate codes of ethics in Australia are of standardized and replicated strategic approaches. In particular, customized and individualized strategic approaches are far from penetrating the ethos of corporate codes of ethics content.

The research is limited to Australian codes of ethics. Suggestions for further research are provided in terms of the search for best practice of customized and individualized corporate codes of ethics content across countries.

The framework contributes to an identification of four strategic approaches of corporate codes of ethics content, namely standardized, replicated, individualized and customized.

The principal contribution of this paper is a generic framework to identify strategic approaches of corporate codes of ethics content. The framework is derived from two generic dimensions: the context of application and the application of content. The timing of application is also a crucial generic dimension to the success or failure of codes of ethics content. Empirical illustrations based upon corporate codes of ethics in Australia's top companies underpin the topic explored.

Memory plays a vital role in designing embedded systems. A larger memory can accommodate more and larger applications but increases cost area, as well as energy requirements. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to propose code compression techniques to solve this issue by minimizing the code size of the application program by compressing the instructions with higher static frequency.

The idea is based on the static and dynamic frequency-based algorithm combined with bit mask and dictionary-based algorithm for MIPS32 processor, in order to minimize the code size and improves compression ratio.

The experimental result shows that the proposed system achieves up to 67 percent compression efficiency.

The paper presents enhanced versions of the code compression technique.

Gray code is a code with the property that there is one and only one bit‐change between any two neighboring numbers. An algorithm for generating gray codes is presented. It turns out that there are other codes which have the same characteristics as gray codes. We call this class of codes generalized gray code (GGC). More precisely, a GGC is a code which has both the reflective property and the unit distance property. Algorithms for generating n‐bit GGC from the (n – 1)‐bit GGC are presented with illustrative examples. It is found that the number of n‐bit GGC is equal to 2n times the number of (n – 1)‐bit GGC. GGC generation trees are used to find GGC. Shows that GGC may be used in the two cases: where 1: gray code cannot be used, and as 2: member of the GGC is better suited than the gray code. Deduces that through the use of GGC, we have more choices than using just gray codes, and that we may obtain better results in terms of fan‐in, fan‐out, propagation delays, power consumption, or other related constraints in designing digital systems. The results obtained in this paper may also have useful applications in implementing special logic functions such as fuzzy threshold functions or fuzzy symmetric functions.

This paper aims to explain the nature of quick response (QR) codes and their possible applications in libraries.

Existing uses, applications, and functionality of QR codes are looked at, before turning to the limited existing use of QR codes in libraries. The author then suggests many different ways QR codes could be used in our libraries.

Most of our users are likely to be able to use QR codes if they install a free reader onto their camera phones or other mobile devices. An already high and further increasing number of people own suitable devices. There are many ways QR codes can be used, with the most exciting applications relying on the use of the internet from mobile devices. The main restrictions on their take up is likely to be increasing awareness of QR codes and carefully marketing services based on QR codes to our users.

Outside Japan few libraries have implemented services based on QR codes. This article is the first of its kind aimed at libraries and it shows how we can use them to take advantage of the mobile devices in many of our users” pockets.

This paper aims to describe the approach of using quick response (QR) codes in a large US research university library. It describes the reasoning behind the numerous decisions that were made throughout the process.

This project was carefully planned to keep detailed organized statistics, effective and clear signage and low expenditures. After one year, the patrons were surveyed regarding library QR use and those results were compared with scan statistics.

This preliminary research into the use of QR codes in a large research library validates that the codes effectively demonstrate the Library’s willingness to reach patrons in innovative ways. It also confirmed the need to promote the usefulness of scanning the codes.

Some patrons stated they did not own a smartphone or have an application (app) on their phone that could scan QR codes; therefore, alternate methods of accessing the information should be provided.

The survey established that not all patrons recognize what QR codes are by name and/or by function, and libraries should recognize this need for education when imploring new technologies.

This paper looks at the opportunities provided to libraries through the use of QR codes, including the benefits of using them as a point of need service tool and marketing device.