The Search Box's Autocomplete Could Be Your Best Friend

... the Search box's autocomplete can help you run more successful searches

The Search box’s autocomplete can (1) help identify what terms are found together in that portion of the code or data set; and (2) guide you toward the correct form(s) of a term.

For example, you’re searching for the status code to report that the patient’s right leg was amputated below the knee. As your Alpha Index query moves from “absence” to “absence leg” to “absence leg below” to “absence leg below knee”, pause and confirm that each term appears in the autocomplete – that’s your confirmation that those terms appear together along a path through the Index tree.

But if you go to add “right” to those four terms, no autocomplete appears. That’s an indicator that the Alpha Index doesn’t include that level of specificity and so a query of “absence leg below knee” is as detailed as you can get. On the Index search results page, the “6” icon to the right of Z89.51 is your indicator that this code requires an additional character – in this case, to indicate which side of the body. On Z89.51’s detail page, click View Related Codes on the right side of the descriptor bar to identify the appropriate additional character for right knee.

The autocomplete can also help pinpoint what form(s) of a term exist within the code or data set. For example, you're reviewing the OASIS and see in the documentation that the patient is giving themselves prescribed insulin injections. You need to determine what M Items are potentially impacted. Do the OASIS items or responses reference that: the patient will need to “inject” the insulin; they are “injecting” themselves; they are administering their own “injections”?

When you type “Inject” in the OASIS search box, the only form of the word that appears in the autocomplete is the only one that will return results when you query. Use “injectable” to see which item(s) reference medications administered that way.