Medical Records & MS-DRG Vocabulary: Key Terms from the Video Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the video notes on HIM processes, MS-DRGs, and related calculations.

Request rate

The percentage of records requested relative to the total number of records; calculated as (requests / total records) * 100.

Filing inches (linear inches)

A unit of measure for filing space expressed in inches along a filing surface.

Open shelf filing unit

A storage cabinet with multiple shelves used for file storage.

Expansion inches

Additional filing inches planned to accommodate growth (e.g., 400 inches for 5-year expansion).

Capacity per six-shelf unit

Total filing inches a 6-shelf unit can hold; 6 shelves × 36 inches per shelf = 216 inches.

Number of shelving units needed

Total shelving units required; computed as (current inches + expansion inches) / capacity per unit, rounded up.

Cost per filing inch

Cost to store one inch of filing space; given as $1.05 per inch in the notes.

Storage space budget

Total dollars allocated for storage space next year; calculated by (0.25 * 25,000 + 0.125 * 15,000) inches multiplied by $1.05, yielding $8,531.25.

File space per admission

Filing inches required for each admitted patient: 0.25 inch.

ER file space per patient

Filing space required per ER patient: 0.125 inch.

Readmission rate

Percentage of patients who are readmitted within a period; used to estimate additional folders.

File folders needed

Estimated number of filing folders required for next year; example yields 4,340.

Filing unit

A storage cabinet containing multiple shelves; in these notes, a 6-shelf unit.

MS-DRG

Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Group; a system classifying hospital stays for billing and resource use.

Relative weight

A numerical weight assigned to an MS-DRG reflecting its relative resource use compared to a baseline.

Case-mix index (CMI)

The average of relative weights per patient; computed as total weighted weights divided by total patients.

MS-DRG report

A report listing MS-DRGs, their weights, and the number of patients with each MS-DRG.

Total relative weight

Sum of all (relative weight × number of patients) products across MS-DRGs.

Productivity

Output per unit of time; for physicians, often patients seen per hour.

FTE (full-time equivalent)

A unit that equates workloads of part-time and full-time employees to full-time staffing; used for staffing calculations.

Coder productivity

Rate at which coders process charts/records; often measured as records per day.

Mean

Arithmetic average; sum of values divided by count.

Median

Middle value in an ordered data set.

Mode

Most frequently occurring value in a data set.

Range

Difference between the maximum and minimum values in a data set.