Classification and Vocabularies

Classifications and vocabularies are used with code sets to define and classify individual health terms. They serve as a way to relate terms to one another so that they are easily and consistently understood by users. Classifications arrange related terms for easy retrieval, while vocabularies are sets of specialized terms that facilitate precise communication by eliminating ambiguity. Descriptions of designated coding schemes are listed below.

• ICF
  The ICF was first created in 1980 by WHO to provide a unifying framework for classifying the consequences of disease and it complements the ICD-10 which contains information on diagnosis and health condition, but not on functional status.
   

• ICD-9-CM
  ICD-9-CM is the clinical modification of the 9th edition of ICD prepared by the U.S. and adopted in 1979. It is maintained by the National Center  for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC, in conjunction with CMS.
   

• ICD-10
  The tenth revision of a series formalized in 1983 that groups conditions for general epidemiological purposes and the evaluation of health care. The ICD-10 consists of tabular lists containing cause-of-death titles and codes, inclusion and exclusion terms for cause-of-death titles, an alphabetical index to diseases and nature of injury, external causes of injury, table of drugs and chemicals, and description, guidelines, and coding rules(1) .
   

• LOINC
  Logical Observation Identifiers, Names and Codes laboratory terms set provides a standard set of universal names and codes for identifying individual laboratory and clinical results and allows users to merge clinical results from many sources into one database for patient care, clinical research, or management.
   

• SNOMED
  Systematized Nomenclature of Human and Veterinary Medicine is a structured nomenclature and classification of the terminology used in human and veterinary medicine for indexing medical record information and it is produced and maintained by the College of American Pathologists.(2) .
   

• North American Collaborating Center (WHO Collaborating Center for the Family of International Classifications for North America)
  The North American Collaborating Center represents the United States and Canada in international activities related to study and revision of the ICIDH/ICF, works with U.S. researchers conducting ICIDH/ICF studies and evaluations and collaborates with Canadian researchers through the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)(3) .

(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (April 20, 2004). International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) [On-line], Available: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/dvs/icd10des.htm .
(2) The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. (July 6, 2000). NCVHS Report to the Secretary on Uniform Standards for Patient Medical Record Information [On-line], Available: http://ncvhs.hhs.gov/hipaa000706.pdf .
(3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (April 20, 2004). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) [On-line], Available: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/icd9/icfhome.htm .