WHO Released New ICD-11
11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)
Geneva, June 18, 2018, WHO has released a new and updated version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), 18 years after the launch of ICD-10.
The ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide, and contains around 55 000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death. It provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.
The ICD is a product that WHO is truly proud of,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
It enables us to understand so much about what makes people get sick and die, and to take action to prevent suffering and save lives.”
ICD-11, which has been over a decade in the making, provides significant improvements on previous versions.
3 major improvements
First, ICT-11 has been updated for the 21st century and reflects critical advances in science and medicine.
Second, it can now be well integrated with electronic health applications and information systems. This new version is fully electronic and thus significantly easier to implement, which will lead to fewer mistakes, allows more detail to be recorded, all of which will make the tool much more accessible, particularly for low-resource settings.
Third, an important feature is that ICD-11 has been produced through a transparent, collaborative manner, the scope of which is unprecedented in its history. The complexity of the ICD has sometimes made it seem like an esoteric health tool requiring months of training – of the number of deaths reported in the world, those coded correctly were about one third. An overriding motive in this revision was to make the ICD easier to use.
Better health data means better #HealthForAll.
The International Classification of Diseases #ICD11 is now available https://t.co/HxH0V4DqwU pic.twitter.com/iepq1QCwxq
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 18, 2018
Some highlights of ICD-11
- The new International Classification of Diseases has improved the ability to record information about quality of care and patient safety.
- For the first time, in the International Classification of Diseases, WHO is classifying gaming disorder as an addictive behaviour disorder, so now it can be measured how many people are affected.
For the first time, in the International Classification of Diseases #ICD11, WHO is classifying gaming disorder as an addictive behaviour disorder so now we can measure how many people are affected.https://t.co/HxH0V4DqwU pic.twitter.com/8KKHfTzjEI
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 18, 2018
- In the new International Classification of Diseases, transgender is no longer considered a mental disorder, but is classified under sexual health conditions. This should reduce stigma and improve care.
- The new International Classification of Diseases better reflects the modern reality of people living with HIV infection.
- Stroke is now classified in the International Classification of Diseases as a disease of the brain rather than the circulatory system.
- Fewer diagnostic terms for post-traumatic stress disorder in the International Classification of Diseases will allow for easier diagnosis.
- It revised the definition for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and, more specifically, for alcohol dependence and the “harmful patterns of alcohol use.”
ICD purpose and uses
ICD is the foundation for the identification of health trends and statistics globally, and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is the diagnostic classification standard for all clinical and research purposes. ICD defines the universe of diseases, disorders, injuries and other related health conditions, listed in a comprehensive, hierarchical fashion that allows for:
- easy storage, retrieval and analysis of health information for evidenced-based decision-making;
- sharing and comparing health information between hospitals, regions, settings and countries; and
- data comparisons in the same location across different time periods.
Uses include monitoring of the incidence and prevalence of diseases, observing reimbursements and resource allocation trends, and keeping track of safety and quality guidelines. They also include the counting of deaths as well as diseases, injuries, symptoms, reasons for encounter, factors that influence health status, and external causes of disease.
History of ICD
The first international classification edition, known as the International List of Causes of Death, was adopted by the International Statistical Institute in 1893.
WHO was entrusted with the ICD at its creation in 1948 and published the 6th version, ICD-6, that incorporated morbidity for the first time. The WHO Nomenclature Regulations, adopted in 1967, stipulated that Member States use the most current ICD revision for mortality and morbidity statistics. The ICD has been revised and published in a series of editions to reflect advances in health and medical science over time.
ICD-10 was endorsed in May 1990 by the Forty-third World Health Assembly. It is cited in more than 20,000 scientific articles and used by more than 100 countries around the world.
A version of ICD-11 was released on 18 June 2018 to allow Member States to prepare for implementation, including translating ICD into their national languages. ICD-11 will be submitted to the 144th Executive Board Meeting in January 2019 and the Seventy-second World Health Assembly in May 2019 and, following endorsement, Member States will start reporting using ICD-11 on 1 January 2022.
