International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
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:
Based on clinical input, research and epidemiology, ICD has become a tool that is suiable for many uses in health, as:
ICD-11 has been adopted by the Seventy-second World Health Assembly in May 2019 and comes into effect on 1 January 2022.
The first international classification edition, known as the International List of Causes of Death, was adopted by the International Statistical Institute in 1893. The ICD has since been revised and published in a series of revisions to reflect advances in health and medical science over time. The eleventh revision has been a time warp - moving ICD to the 21st century, the digital era.
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, stipulate that Member States use the most current ICD revision for national and international recording and reporting mortality and morbidity statistics.
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 150 countries around the world and has been translated into more than 40 languages. With the need for more detailed recording and reporting a number of clinical modifications or specialty adaptations proliferated over time. ICD-11 reunites the different modifications and adaptations, adds clinical needs and more, migrating ICD from a mere statistical framework to a clinical classification for statitical use.
ICD-10
Previous online versions of ICD-10