World Health Organization

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is designated as the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) in Australia. The Australian Collaborating Centre (ACC) assists the WHO with their efforts to support national and international health information systems, statistics and evidence. The ACC is part of a Network of collaborating centres that contribute to the development, dissemination, maintenance and use of products that help categorise concepts in health and the health system.

WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC)

The WHO-FIC includes reference classifications, derived classifications, and related classifications. The reference classifications serve as the global standards for health data, clinical documentation and statistical aggregation. They enable capture of the following health areas: diseases, health problems, body function, body structure, activity, participation and interventions. They include:

• The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
• The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), and,
• The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI).

The other classifications are either based on (derived classifications) or separate to (related classifications) these three reference classifications. Together, the classifications are known as the Family of International Classifications and the network of collaborating centres is known as the WHO-FIC Network.

These products are used in different ways across different countries. Tables 1, 2 and 3 below describe how the different classifications of the WHO-FIC are used in Australia.

Table 1. Reference classifications and their use in Australia

Classifications that cover the main areas of health and the health system. These classifications are maintained by the WHO.

Reference classifications

Name and link	Subject area	Use in Australia
ICD International Classification of Diseases ICD-10 2019 (current) ICD-11 (release version) ICD-11 (coding tool for release version) ICD-11 (maintenance version) ICD-11 (coding tool for maintenance version)	Diseases Health problems Body structures	Mortality statistics (cause of death)
ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health ICF	Body function Disability Activity Participation Environmental health	Population surveys Measuring health and disability
ICHI International Classification of Health Interventions ICHI	Interventions Procedures	Classification under development, not used in Australia

Table 2. Derived classifications and their use in Australia

There are a number of derived classifications in the WHO-FIC. Only the ones in use in Australia are shown in Table 2.

Classifications that are based on one or more reference classifications. These classifications are maintained by the WHO.

Derived classifications

Name and link	Subject area	Use in Australia
ICD-10-AM International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems, Australian Modification ICD-10-AM 11th edition (current)	Diseases Health problems Body structures	Morbidity statistics (disease)
ICD-O International Classification of Oncology ICD-O-3	Oncology	Cancer registry Cancer reporting
ICD Mental Health ICD Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Diagnostic Criteria for Research ICD-10 : DCR-10 (file download) ICD Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines ICD-10: CDDG	Mental Health	No official implementation
ICD-NA Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Neurology ICD-10-NA (file download)	Neurology	No official implementation
ICD-DA Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Dentistry and Stomatology ICD-DA (3rd edition)	Dentistry Oral health	No official implementation

Table 3. Related classifications and their use in Australia

These classifications describe important aspects of health or the health system, and not covered by the reference or derived classifications.

Related classifications

Name and link	Subject area	Use in Australia
ICPC International Classification of Primary Care ICPC-2  Maintained by: WONCA International Classification Committee (WICC) ICPC-2 PLUS Maintained by: Family Medicine Research Centre (FMRC)	Primary care General practice	Electronic health records
ICECI International Classification of External Causes of Injury ICECI Maintained by: ICECI Coordination and Maintenance Group.	External causes	Injury surveillance National Coronial Information System
ATC/DDD Anatomical, Therapeutic, Chemical classification system with Daily Defined Doses ATC/DDD System Maintained by: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology	Therapeutic drugs	Drug utilisation research
ISO 9999 Technical aids for persons with disabilities ISO 9999:2016 Maintained by: International Organization for Standardization	Technical aids	Disability services data collection
ICNP International Classification for Nursing Practice ICNP Maintained by: International Council of Nurses	Nursing practice

Table 4. Australian classifications

These classifications are maintained by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) and are governed by the rules set out in the Australian Coding Standards (ACS) volume of the ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS classification system.

Australian classifications

Name and link	Subject area	Initially derived from
ICD-10-AM International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems, Australian Modification ICD-10-AM 11th edition (current)	Diseases Health problems Body structures	ICD-10
ACHI Australian Classification of Health Interventions ACHI 11th edition (current)	Interventions Procedures	Medicare Benefits Schedule

WHO-FIC Network committee and reference groups

A number of experts from different WHO-FIC collaborating centres, including those from the Australian Collaborating Centre, participate in the activities of the Network's committees and reference groups to support the Network’s strategic work plan. The Network committees are:

• Education and Implementation Committee (EIC)
• Family Development Committee (FDC)
• Informatics and Terminology Committee (ITC)
• Classification and Statistics Advisory Committee (CSAC)

The reference groups allow the Network to provide for more technical discussions and participation by a wider range of experts and interested parties. The current WHO-FIC reference groups are:

• Functioning and Disability Reference Group (FDRG)
• Morbidity Reference Group (MbRG)
• Mortality Reference Group (MRG)
• Traditional Medicine Reference Group (TMRG)
• Verbal Autopsy Reference Group (VARG)

Further details of the Australian Collaborating Centre

The Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications Australia is Michael Frost, Senior Executive of the AIHW’s Data Governance Group.

For further information on the work of the WHO-FIC Network or the Australian Collaborating Centre please contact the secretariat.

Contact details

Postal address	Secretariat, Australian WHO-FIC Collaborating Centre PO Box 570 Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone	(02) 6244 1000 (International callers, please use +61 2 6244 1000)
Facsimile	(02) 6244 1299
Email address	[email protected]