ICD recently released its 11th revision and with it came some improvements
over previous versions. Such as accuracy and ease of coding with the help of
technology. It is both online and offline compatible. This also reduces the time
to train and implement with the new version. Not to mention its multilingual
support that allows the system to stay up to date globally. It's no wonder the
World Health Organization is helping countries to adopt and implement this
newer revision. Speaking of, countries implementing this revision may find it to
be more flexible in coordination with their own systems. This helps to increase
the quality of care afforded to patients and thus improve care around the
world. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a common,
standardized language for medical terminology that allows for the sharing of
information with less ambiguity, and a reduced chance for errors when coding.
ICD-11, the latest version, is completely digital and has many updates
including a new user-friendly format, multilingual capabilities, clarity of terms,
updated diagnostic recommendations for mental health conditions, new
chapters (traditional medicine, sexual health, and gaming disorders), and
digital documentation of COVID-19 certificates. b “These updates reflect recent
progress in medicine and advances in scientific understanding” (WHO, 2022).
The qualities of the updates included in ICD-11 that would be beneficial to
countries looking to adopt it would be the multilingual capabilities, entirely
digital user-friendly format, and clarity of terms. b All of these will help with the
coding process and make it easier for healthcare providers to record medical
conditions. b The standardization that ICD-11 offers make it easier to share
information across providers, resulting in continuity of care for the patients.
Reference:
World Health Organization (WHO), (2022 Feb 11). b WHO’s new International
Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) comes into effect. b
https://www.who.int/news/item/11-02-2022-who-s-new-international-
classification-of-diseases-(icd-11)-comes-into-effect
World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 2022 release. World Health
Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news/item/11-02-2022-
icd-11-2022-release
