WHO releases new International Classification of Diseases ICD-11

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This is the basis for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide and contains approximately 55,000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death.

ICD-11 will be presented at the World Health Assembly in May 2019 for adoption by member states and will come into effect on 1 January 2022. This release is an advance preview that will allow countries to plan how to use the new version, prepare translations and train health professionals.

The ICD-11 has taken over a decade to compile and offers significant improvements on previous versions. It is now completely electronic with a more user-friendly format. It is able to better capture data regarding safety in healthcare, which means that unnecessary events that may harm health – such as unsafe workflows in hospitals - can be identified and reduced. The ICD-11 also includes new chapters on topics such as traditional medicine and sexual health. 

Source: WHO, 18 June 2018