An overview of ICD medical classification for the information professional
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-10-2017-0037 |
| Published date | 12 February 2018 |
| Pages | 2-8 |
| Date | 12 February 2018 |
| Author | H. Frank Cervone |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Records management & preservation,Information repositories |
An overview of ICD medical
classification for the
information professional
H. Frank Cervone
School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Informatics work introduces information professionals to taxonomies and other classification
systems outside theboundaries of traditional bibliographic systems.This paper aims to provide an overview
of the InternationalStatistical Classification of Diseases and RelatedHealth Problems (ICD) for informaticians
and informationprofessionals who may not have workedwith the system previously.
Design/methodology/approach –In this paper, the author reviews the purpose, history, current use
and future trendsof the ICD classification system.
Findings –ICD is used globally as a standard vocabulary for medical diagnoses and, in the USA, for
medical procedures in hospitals. Understanding the classification system is vital to working with clinical
medicaldata.
Originality/value –The ICD classification system is not commonly used by information professionals.
This paper providesa brief overview that will familiarize the informationprofessional with the standard and
its uses relatedto medicalpractice.
Keywords Health data standard, Health data taxonomies, Health informatics, ICD-10,
International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems,
Medical data vocabularies
Paper type Technical paper
Informatics work,particularly in the health sciences, introduces informationprofessionals to
taxonomies and other classification systems that lie outside the traditional boundaries of
bibliographic systems. An example of this is the International Statistical Classification of
Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) that is a taxonomy published by the World
Health Organization(WHO) to provide a consistent method of describing medical diagnoses.
The current version of the standard,version 10, is known as ICD-10.
The classification has been translatedinto 43 different languages and is used around the
world by member states of the United Nationsto document disease and health conditions for
both research and clinical purposes. The ICD defines diseases, disorders and injuries in a
hierarchical manner primarily for the purposes of recording morbidity and mortality
statistics. In addition, it provides a standard means to share and compare epidemiological
and other health information at the local, regional, national and international levels (World
Health Organization,2016).
History
Systems for classifying disease originated in the 1700s with both Sauvage and Linnaeus
publishing papers (Nosologia methodica and Genera morborum, respectively) describing
methods for classifying diseases systematically (Knibbs, 1929). By the early 1800s, William
Cullen’sSynopsis nosologiae methodicae had supplanted the earlier works for disease
DLP
34,1
2
Received3 October 2017
Revised3 October 2017
Accepted3 October 2017
DigitalLibrary Perspectives
Vol.34 No. 1, 2018
pp. 2-8
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5816
DOI 10.1108/DLP-10-2017-0037
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