The International Collaborative Effort on Automating Mortality Statistics

1. The International Collaborative Effort on Automating Mortality Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D. Mortality Statistics Branch Division of Vital Statistics 2006 Data Users Conference Washington, DC

2. Automated Coding Systems • Mortality Medical Data System (MMDS) • Development began in 1967 to automate the entry, classification, and retrieval of cause-of-death information reported on death certificates • MMDS used in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK

3. SuperMICAR [Codes literal entries on death cert. to entity reference numbers (ERNs)] Mortality Medical Data System (MMDS) ACME [Selects the underlying cause of death] MICAR200 [Converts ERNs to entity-axis multiple cause ICD codes] TRANSAX [Converts entity-axis multiple cause codes to record-axis multiple cause codes] MICAR=Mortality Medical Indexing Classification and Retrieval Underlying Cause Codes Multiple Cause Codes [Entity- and record- axis codes] ACME=Automated Classification of Medical Entities TRANSAX=Translation of Axes

4. ACME Automated Coding Systems • SuperMICAR/MICAR only suitable for coding death certificate data certified in English • What about non-English speaking countries? • Styx – France • MIKADO – Sweden

5. International Collaborative Effort (ICE) on Automating Mortality Statistics • Rapid development of computerized systems for collection, production and dissemination of vital statistics • Need for standardization in mortality coding • International comparability • ICE on Automation organized in 1995 with 6 member countries

6. Purpose of the ICE on Automation • To share knowledge and experience on automated mortality coding systems • To develop and improve existing systems • To establish mechanisms for technical support • To facilitate the transition to ICD-10

7. Purpose of the ICE on Automation • To share knowledge and experience on automated mortality coding systems • To develop and improve existing systems • To establish mechanisms for technical support • Internationalization of ACME

8. Accomplishments • Conferences • November 1996 – 19 countries represented • September 1999 – 25 countries represented • April 2003 – 25 countries represented • Spring 2008 (tentative)

9. Accomplishments • Development of a seminar to promote automated coding • First seminar presented in Prague, Czech Republic • 11 Central and Eastern European countries • Promotion of bridge coding or comparability studies • Mortality Reference Group

10. Accomplishments • Development of IRIS • Based on MMDS – MICAR and ACME • Can be implemented in any language • Technical assistance • Baltic countries • Mexico • Central and Eastern Europe • North Africa

11. ICE Planning Committee Current members • Sweden • France • Germany • Australia • England • Scotland • Canada • USA Potential new members • Mexico • Hungary

12. Future of the ICE on Automation • Continued development and dissemination of IRIS • ICE Conference in Spring 2008 • Continue and expand technical assistance • Automated coding seminars • Application of automated coding to cause of death determined by verbal autopsy

13. Thank You RNAnderson@cdc.gov 301-458-4073