WHO is launching a major online project to revise the global standard for medical and health statistics – the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
For the first time, WHO is inviting stakeholders to participate in the ICD revision through an Internet platform. This update is vital in order to keep up with recent progress in medicine and the use of information technology in the field of health, and to improve the basis for international comparisons.
The last version of ICD was adopted in 1990 by all WHO Member States, which have formally agreed to use it as a standard to report diseases and deaths. The first meeting of a steering group to oversee the revision is taking place in Japan from 16 to 18 April 2007.
Any user can enter suggestions to improve the ICD via a new web application called “ICD-10 Plus” (http://extranet.who.int/icdrevision). Any user who registers can contribute to the revision and back his or her proposal with evidence.
Users can also see what others have proposed and discuss these topics through a blog. These suggestions will be reviewed by expert groups and formulated as an ICD-11 draft, which is the second step in the revision process. The draft will be formulated using a “wiki”, similar to the widely known Internet encyclopedia “Wikipedia” but with stricter editorial rules, to jointly author the next version of this international public good.
Emerging diseases and scientific developments, combined with advances in service delivery and health information systems, require a revision of this global classification system. One major need is to improve the relevance of the ICD in primary care settings (clinics, doctors’ offices and frontline health services), as that is where most people are treated. Another key driver is the development of computerized health information systems that require classifying electronic patient records according to the ICD.