Strengthening National Mortality and Morbidity Statistics in Fiji: International Classification of Disease -10 Training for Coders

Purpose of the contract

Working closely with the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services and the WHO Pacific Health Systems and Policy team, the contractor will contribute to strengthening the national mortality and morbidity statistics in Fiji. Primary objective is to develop and conduct a mortality and morbidity-training course for those directly involved in coding including potential new coders.

Background

Mortality coding is centralised at national level at Health Information Unit at the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services. Nationally, as mandated by law, all deaths in Fiji are recorded in standardised death certificates. The Health Information Unit codes cause of death using the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Deaths are automatically coded using specialist software (Iris), with the remaining deaths being manually coded by highly trained coders. Coded certificates are transferred to electronic hospital patient electronic system (PATISPlus).  

Whereas for morbidity data for all inpatients records entered into PATISplus medical recorders in each of the hospitals across the country enter the morbidity codes (with Australian modifications of ICD) for all patients whose medical encounters (discharges) have been captured in the system. Validation of diagnosis and procedures are usually carried out by examining the actual physical medical folders of patients in the respective facilities.

The Health Information Unit is facing challenges in terms of lack of adequate human resources and technical capacity for mortality and morbidity coding; namely, issues include lack of coders, no structured coder-training program in place for new or old coding staff and lack of adequate technology infrastructure issue.

Work to be performed

Method(s) to carry out the activity

Conduct a training course for mortality and morbidity coding for those directly involved in coding including potential new coders in Suva, Fiji. The course should cover at minimum the introduction, medical terminology, conventions, basic and advance coding guidelines, morbidity and mortality rules and guidelines and all the chapters in mortality (ICD-10) and morbidity (ICD-10AM) including the policies on coding.

Output/s

In collaboration with the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services and the WHO Pacific Health Systems and Policy team, the contractor will

1) Develop a methodology for the ICD 10 training. Three separate courses should be tailored:
a.       Medical terminology/medical science education: The course should include at minimum but not limited to introduction to common medical terms for all body systems and strategies for interpreting complex medical terms, some information about common diseases and treatments. (1  week for approximately 50 participants)
b.       Morbidity coding: The course should include the use of the five volumes of the ICD-10-Australian Modification/Australian Classification of Health Interventions/Australian Coding Standards and have some practical exercises with real hospital data records. (1  week for approximately 50 participants)
c.        Mortality coding: The course will cover coding of all causes on the death certification and application of the advanced coding rules to select the underlying cause of death, plus strategies to deal with poor quality certification.  Training should also cover coding using Iris, not just manual coding from the ICD-10 books. (1  week for approximately  7  participants)
d.       Pretest and posttest should be administered during the first and last days of the each training, respectively. 
2)      Develop a 3 week training schedule and conduct training for approximately 50 people for medical terminology and morbidity coding in Suva, Fiji. 7 people will be additionally trained with mortality coding.

Technical Supervision

The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:

Responsible Officer:

Kontio, Katri/Technical Officer for Health Information, Pacific Health Systems and policy, Pacific Technical Support
Email: Kkontio@who.int

Manager: Kunhee Park, A/Team Coordinator, Pacific Health Systems and policy, Pacific Technical Support
Email: parkku@who.int

Specific requirements
- Experience required: At least 10 years of working experience, including international work experience, in mortality and morbidity statistics with specialisation in developing and conducting training courses for ICD10. Experience working in one or more Pacific islands to strengthen their vital statistics would be a strong asset.
- Skills / Technical skills and knowledge: Extensive knowledge and experience in mortality and morbidity statistics including automated coding practices with Iris and use of ICD10AM coding for morbidity. Strong ability to conduct training in low and middle-income countries would be an asset. 
- Language requirements:
Written and spoken fluency in English is essential.

Competencies

Communicating in a credible and effective way;
Producing results;
Moving forward in a changing environment; and
Fostering integration and teamwork

Place of assignment

Home country and Suva, Fiji.

Timeline/Duration of assignment

The duration for of the assignment is approximately 4 weeks. Training courses should be conducted in October-December, depending on needs of the Ministry of Health. Proposal should include proposed activities and draft schedule for the Ministry’s consideration.

Proposed activities/ No of days

1, Initial meeting with the with the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services and the WHO Pacific Health Systems and Policy team and preparation/1 day
2. Development of methodology, content and schedule for ICD10 training/ 3 days
3. Training course on medical terminology and morbidity training/ 10 days
4. Training course for mortality coding/ 5 days
5. Final report with training outcomes, recommendations of future training needs and deep briefing/ 2 days

Detailed cost breakdown

Contract type is Agreement for Performance of Work (APW). The costing should be broken down by the number of training courses, details of fixed remuneration for work, air fees, per-diems and other costs.

Contractual fee = (submit your expected working days, preferably 19 days) X (submit your expected daily rate) = ___________

Airfare (your place – Suva– your place) =  (submit your expected cost for number of round trips required under your proposal) = ____________       

Per-diem in Suva=  (Ca. 24 nights x 249 USD = 5976 USD

Miscellaneous (if any, specify) = ______________                                        

If additional trainer(s) are required, please include also their contractual fees and airfees. 

TOTAL   = _____________________

Interested should submit a resume/CV with application letter to wpfjidpsprocurement@who.int by 11 August 2017. Please use Tender Notice No. 59736 as subject for all submissions.