The part that required ICD codes was when we compared our mortality rates to peer hospitals. You could theoretically do this without codes, but a standardized

The part that required ICD codes was when we compared our mortality rates to peer hospitals. You could theoretically do this without codes, but a standardized way to classify patients makes it orders of magnitude easier. There are companies that ingest data from hospitals and then give it back with comparisons to other hospitals. That's how we were able to identify the problem. Hospitals aren't flush with a lot of spare cash, so if doing this required a bunch of complicated text processing then it probably wouldn't have happened, and trying to compare our notes to notes from other institutions just multiplies the nightmare. With ICD codes we all speak the same language.