NANO AIR-DRG
NANO AUTOMATED INTERNATIONAL REFINED – DISEASE RELATED GROUPER
At a glance
NANO AIR-DRG — Automated International Refined – Disease Related Grouper — is NANO’s own grouper for episodes that are not fully coded yet. It carries its own procedural code set, treats ICD coding as an optional input, and can output IR-DRG for UAE claim submission.
- What it is
- NANO’s own automated International Refined grouper
- Output
- Groups the episode and can produce IR-DRG output for submission
- Coding
- Carries its own procedural code set; ICD coding is optional, not a precondition
- Why it exists
- More episodes needing classification than coding capacity to code them
- Where IR-DRG applies
- Dubai DHA from 1 September 2020; Abu Dhabi DoH from 1 January 2013
- Its counterpart
- NANO DRG is the AR-DRG grouper certified by IHACPA through V12.0
Grouping that does not wait for perfect coding
NANO AIR-DRG is an Automated International Refined – Disease Related Grouper, built for the position most health systems are actually in: more episodes needing classification than there is coding capacity to code them.
WHERE IT SITS ALONGSIDE NANO DRG
NANO DRG is the AR-DRG grouper, IHACPA-certified through V12.0 — it produces the official classification, the one a regulator will accept. NANO AIR-DRG is the International Refined grouper you reach for when the record is not fully coded yet: it carries its own procedural code set, and ICD coding is an optional input rather than a precondition.
Use the automated grouper to see the episode early. Use the certified grouper when the number has to stand up.
Key Features
Its own procedural code set
AIR-DRG carries a procedural code set developed in-house, alongside ICD and ACHI codes. That is precisely what lets it group an episode without depending on one national coding standard having been fully applied first.
ICD coding optional, not assumed
ML, CM, AM, MS and the other ICD variants are optional inputs rather than prerequisites. Where clinical coding capacity is still being built — as it is across much of the region — that is the difference between grouping the episodes you have and waiting for the ones you wish you had.
Benefits of NANO AIR-DRG
Coding time, returned
Cuts the time spent on diagnosis and coding tasks, so scarce coding capacity goes to the episodes where a human actually changes the answer.
A smaller audit surface
Consistent coding and documentation leave less to explain: fewer errors to chase, and a clearer line from the record to the classification it produced.
Kept current
Regular updates track changes in classification and regulation, so the grouper does not quietly drift away from the rules it is being measured against.
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Post-pay to pre-pay
Paying after the fact is giving way to adjudicating before it. Grouping an episode before the claim is settled is what makes pre-pay adjudication possible — and it is where the payment delay disappears rather than being managed.
See it on your own episodes
Bring a sample of episodes — coded, partly coded, or not coded at all — and we will group them with you, then show you what the certified grouper makes of the same set.
Why choose NANO AIR-DRG?
More about this product
Standards and code sets
- IR-DRG
- ICD-10-CM
- ICD-10-AM
- CPT
- ACHI
- eClaimLink
How this works with the rest of the suite
- NANO DRG
Use the automated grouper to see the episode early; use the AR-DRG grouper certified by IHACPA through AR-DRG V12.0 when the number has to stand up to a regulator.
- NANO AI CDI 360
AIR-DRG shows you the episode before coding is finished — CDI 360 is what closes the documentation gaps it exposes.
- DoctorSense
Ambient documentation captures the encounter as it happens, which is what gives the automated grouper something to work with sooner.
- NANO AR-DRG KSA
The Saudi edition on AR-DRG Version 9.0 — the other side of a Gulf group operating under two different classifications.
- NANO CDSS
Grouping early is only useful if you know what payers approve; clinical decision support is where that comparison lives.
Frequently asked questions
What is IR-DRG?
- IR-DRG stands for International Refined Diagnosis Related Group. It is a patient classification system designed to be applied across different countries and coding systems, and unlike most DRG families it covers ambulatory encounters as well as inpatient ones. It is maintained by Solventum and it is the classification the UAE uses.
Can NANO AIR-DRG produce IR-DRG output?
- Yes. NANO AIR-DRG is NANO’s own grouper, developed in-house, and it can output IR-DRG classifications for claim submission in markets that require them. That is a statement about what NANO’s software produces, not a claim of any relationship with the owner of the IR-DRG classification.
Which DRG system does Dubai require?
- Dubai uses IR-DRG. The Dubai Health Authority mandated DRG submission on eClaimLink for all public and private hospitals in the Emirate from 1 September 2020, choosing IR-DRG because it fits the ICD-10-CM and CPT coding Dubai already ran. NANO AIR-DRG produces IR-DRG output for that submission.
And Abu Dhabi?
- Abu Dhabi moved earlier. The Department of Health made IR-DRG the accepted method for inpatient claiming from 1 January 2013, which makes the Emirate one of the longest-running DRG reimbursement environments in the region.
How can it group an episode that is not fully coded?
- Because it does not depend on one national coding standard having been applied first. AIR-DRG carries a procedural code set developed in-house alongside ICD and ACHI codes, and treats the ICD variants — ML, CM, AM, MS and the rest — as optional inputs rather than prerequisites. Where clinical coding capacity is still being built, that is the difference between grouping the episodes you have and waiting for the ones you wish you had.
Is this a replacement for a certified grouper?
- No, and it is not offered as one. NANO DRG is the AR-DRG grouper certified by IHACPA through AR-DRG V12.0 and it is what produces a classification a regulator will accept. AIR-DRG is what you reach for when the record is not fully coded yet. They answer different questions and most groups run both.
What does it change operationally?
- Three things the page sets out: coding time is returned, because scarce coding capacity goes to the episodes where a human actually changes the answer; the audit surface shrinks, because consistent coding and documentation leave less to explain; and pre-pay adjudication becomes possible, because you can group an episode before the claim is settled rather than correcting it afterwards.
What is the difference between post-pay and pre-pay adjudication?
- Post-pay means the claim is settled and then reviewed, so errors are recovered afterwards — which is slow, adversarial and often incomplete. Pre-pay means the episode is classified and checked before the money moves. Grouping early is the precondition for pre-pay, and it is where the payment delay disappears rather than simply being managed.
Does it stay current with classification changes?
- Yes — regular updates track changes in classification and regulation, so the grouper does not quietly drift away from the rules it is being measured against. Drift is the failure mode that matters here, because it is invisible until an audit finds it.
How would we evaluate it?
- Bring a sample of episodes — coded, partly coded, or not coded at all — and we will group them with you, then show you what the certified grouper makes of the same set. Seeing both answers on your own episodes is more informative than any description of either.