Appendix A: Definitions and classifications
This appendix contains technical information on how health services and conditions were identified in this study using the datasets in the National Integrated Health Services Information (NIHSI).
Types of services | Data source | Item codes |
|---|---|---|
Specialist palliative care |
|
|
Inpatient hospital care | Hospital Admitted Patient Care | Care type: 3 (palliative care) or |
Outpatient clinics | Outpatient Non-Admitted Patient care | Outpatient clinic type tier: 20.13 |
Consultations with palliative care specialists | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | Medicare service provider codes (SPR_REG_SPEC): 043, 077 |
Other relevant services |
|
|
Outpatient clinics (allied health) | Outpatient Non-Admitted Patient care | Outpatient clinic type tier 2: 40.35 |
MBS-subsidised services | ||
GP attendances | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: BTOS 0101, 0102, 0103 |
Specialist consultations: | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: Medicare service provider codes (SPR_REG_SPEC): |
Oncology | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 017,049,097, 804 |
Cardiologists | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 004,084 |
Nephrologists | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 008,088 |
Neurologists | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 009,089 |
Respiratory physicians | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 014,094 |
Geriatrician | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: 016,096 |
Practice nurse | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: BTOS 0110 |
Allied health | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: BTOS 0150 |
Potentially non-beneficial treatments |
| |
Pathology services (Haematology, Chemical, Microbiology, Immunology, Tissue Pathology, Cytology, Genetics, Infertility And Pregnancy Tests, Simple Basic Pathology Tests) | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: MBS Category 6 |
Diagnostic imaging services (including X-rays, CT scans, ultrasound scans, MRI scans and nuclear medicine scans) | Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) | MBS items: MBS Category 5 |
| Chemotherapy (including radiotherapy, immunotherapy) | Hospital Admitted Patient | Procedure codes: 13760, 13939, 13950, 14247, 14249, 15000, 15003, 15012, 15100, 15103, 15224, 15239, 15254, 15269, 15303, 15304, 15311, 15312, 15319, 15320, 15327, 15338, 15339, 15342, 15351, 15500, 15503, 15506, 15509, 15518, 15521, 15524, 15527, 15530, 15533, 15536, 15539, 15550, 15556, 15600, 16003, 16009, 16012, 16015, 16018, 34521, 34524, 34528, 34530, 34533, 35321, 50950, 90764, 96199 |
| Dialysis | Hospital Admitted Patient | Procedures codes: 13100, 13104, 13106, 13109, 13110 |
* BTOS: Broad Type of Service in MBS.
Source: Department of Health 2022.
Trajectories of death (end-of-life disease trajectories) | Health conditions and relevant ICD-10 codes applied to the underlying cause of death |
|---|---|
Terminal illness (malignant neoplasms and associated conditions) | 'Cancer': C00–C97, D45, D46, D47.1 and D47.3–D47.5 |
Organ failure | Heart failure: I11.0: Hypertensive heart disease with (congestive) heart failure I13.0: Hypertensive heart and kidney with (congestive) heart failure I13.2: Hypertensive heart and kidney disease with both (congestive) heart failure and kidney failure I50.0: Congestive heart failure I50.1: Left ventricular failure I50.9: Heart failure, unspecified U82.2: Chronic heart failure Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: J44.0: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection J44.1: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute exacerbation, unspecified J44.8: Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease J44.9: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified U83.2: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Liver failure: U84.3: Chronic liver failure K70.4: Alcoholic hepatic failure K71.1: Toxic liver disease with hepatic necrosis K72.0: Acute and subacute hepatic failure K72.1: Chronic hepatic failure K72.9 : Hepatic failure, unspecified |
Frailty | Dementia: B22: Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease resulting in other specified diseases F00.0*: Dementia in Alzheimer's disease with early onset (G30.0†) F00.1*: Dementia in Alzheimer's disease with late onset (G30.1†) F00.2*: Dementia in Alzheimer's disease, atypical or mixed type (G30.8†) F00.9*: Dementia in Alzheimer's disease, unspecified (G30.9†) F01.0: Vascular dementia of acute onset F01.1: Multi-infarct dementia F01.2: Subcortical vascular dementia F01.3: Mixed cortical and subcortical vascular dementia F01.8: Other vascular dementia F01.9: Vascular dementia, unspecified F02.0*: Dementia in Pick's disease (G31.0†) F02.1*: Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (A81.0†) F02.2*: Dementia in Huntington's disease (G10†) F02.3*: Dementia in Parkinson's disease (G20†) F02.4*: Dementia in human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease (B22†) F02.8*: Dementia in other specified diseases classified elsewhere F03: Unspecified dementia G10: Huntington's disease G30.0: Alzheimer's disease with early onset G30.1: Alzheimer's disease with late onset G30.8: Other Alzheimer's disease G30.9: Alzheimer's disease, unspecified G31.0: Circumscribed brain atrophy A81.0: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Parkinson’s: G20: Parkinson's disease G21.0: Malignant neuroleptic syndrome G21.1: Other drug-induced secondary parkinsonism G21.2: Secondary parkinsonism due to other external agents G21.3: Postencephalitic parkinsonism G21.4: Vascular parkinsonism G21.8: Other secondary parkinsonism G21.9: Secondary parkinsonism, unspecified G22*: Parkinsonism in diseases classified elsewhere Senility: R54: Senility |
* An optional additional code for the manifestation.
† The primary code is for the underlying disease.
Note: Various studies have identified health conditions that are grouped into trajectories of death that are most likely to require end of life care – terminal illness (cancer), organ failure, and frailty (Lunney et al. 2002; Seow et al. 2018). For this report, this list of ICD-10 AM codes is used to classify each relevant underlying cause of death in the National Death Index.
Note: The list of ICD codes is based on the Murtagh (2014) minimal estimate, with some minor revisions to reflect current data and definitions.
Cause of death | ICD-10 codes |
|---|---|
Neoplasm (excludes benign neoplasms) | C00-C97 |
Heart disease | I00-I52 |
Cerebrovascular disease | I60-I69 |
Renal disease | N17, N18, N28 |
Liver disease | K70-K77 |
Respiratory disease | J06-J18, J20-J22, J40-J47, J96 |
Neurodegenerative disease | G10, G20, G35, G122, G903, G231 |
Alzheimer’s disease | F01, F03 |
Dementia | G30 |
Senility | R54 |
HIV/AIDS | B20-B24 |