In a serial numbering filing system, how are records from multiple admissions filed?

In a serial numbering filing system, how are records from multiple admissions filed?

• A. Each admission is filed under its own number
• B. All records for a patient are combined under a single patient number
• C. Records are filed alphabetically by patient surname
• D. Files are grouped by department code

Answer: (A)

In a serial numbering filing system, each admission gets its own unique file number. This means that every hospital visit is stored as a separate record, even if it’s the same patient with multiple admissions. Having individual numbers for each admission makes it straightforward to pull up the exact episode of care, track what happened during that admission, and bill or summarize the care without confusing it with other visits. Other approaches, like grouping all records under one patient number or sorting by surname or department, blend multiple admissions together or organize files in ways that don’t provide the same precise, visit-by-visit retrieval.

In a serial numbering filing system, each admission gets its own unique file number. This means that every hospital visit is stored as a separate record, even if it’s the same patient with multiple admissions. Having individual numbers for each admission makes it straightforward to pull up the exact episode of care, track what happened during that admission, and bill or summarize the care without confusing it with other visits. Other approaches, like grouping all records under one patient number or sorting by surname or department, blend multiple admissions together or organize files in ways that don’t provide the same precise, visit-by-visit retrieval.