The NordDRG as product

The NordDRG aims to be a comprehensive descriptive tool that can portray the organisation, activities and staffing in health care organisations. The NordDRG system will help to provide adequate information in healthcare production and consumption.

Nordic Casemix Centre is engaged in Nordic coordination within the area of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG). NordDRG is a DRG grouper which emulates HCFA-DRG version 12 using definitions based on ICD-10 and NCSP (the NOMESCO Classification of Surgical Procedures). The first grouper was completed in 1996. The grouper is updated yearly according to the NordDRG maintenance process.

National NordDRG definitions are produced for Finland, Icedand, Norway, Sweden,Estonia and Latvia and also for Denmark where however another version produced by Denmark is in use. All versions are published in their respective native languages. A common Nordic version (published in English) of NordDRG available which combined ICD-10 (ICD+) and NCSP (NCSP+) that contain all codes in all national basic classifications. Latvian and Estonian versions are directly based on mapping of national basic classifications to ICD+ and NCSP+. Other national versions have different modifications in the logic (grouping rules) of the grouper.

NordDRG is currently in use nationwide in hospitals in Norway and in the majority of the regional health care administrations in Finland and Sweden. The system has also been introduced for trial in Iceland. Denmark has developed a modified DRG system (DkDRG) based on NordDRG that was introduced in 2002. The Nordic Casemix Centre has developed an Estonian NordDRG version that was implemented starting in 2003. There is also an agreement with the Latvian Health Ministry regarding the right to use NordDRG in Latvia