The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department within Ministry VSA, said the two-day Mortality and Morbidity Digital Coding System Workshop sessions last week have been a success.
“The sessions gave information on the methodology of the Iris, how the program works; coding using the ICD-10 was also discussed and the importance of the accurate completion of the mortality certificates was discussed and emphasized.
“The workshop sessions were very informative about trends and developments in Mortality and Morbidity Digital Coding. Considering the unique skill and knowledge, it will be a positive recommendation for future collaboration and follow-up on this topic,” CPS said on Thursday.
CPS would like to thank the persons as well as the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for facilitating the workshop namely, Angela Hinds and Esther Bissessarsingh.
CARPHA is a single regional public health agency for the Caribbean. It was legally established in July 2011 by an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed by Caribbean Community Member States and began operation in January 2013.
The objective of CARPHA is to promote the physical and mental health and wellness of people within the Caribbean.
CPS also thanks the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and its registrars and coders, CPS staff members, and physicians who took part in the two-day sessions. The workshop provides the opportunity to locally explore working together to make use of Iris for mortality data entry by test or code.
The workshop started on September 17 for coders and registrars while evening sessions for Health Care Providers such as physicians, nurses and other interested persons were also scheduled.
The workshop was organized for persons interested in the methodology and completion of Death Certificates.
CPS wants to ensure better quality data to contribute towards the formulation of public health policies. The workshop will enhance the capture of accurate data on mortality and morbidity.
Mortality and morbidity coders have a key role to play in ensuring the quality of vital health statistics.