Health experts give international disease codes a thumbs-up

The World Health Organization WHO for the first time has introduced the International Classification of Diseases ICD codes covering mental health gaming disorders and transgenderism This will also help in faster early detection of any future emerging pandemics like COVID19 This is the first major step by WHO towards digitalising health information across the globeHealth experts have welcomed the new assembly of ICD codes which will cover areas of concern like mental health sexual health and cancer among others Dr Wiqar Shaikh professor of Medicine Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals said that the WHOrsquos ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide It contains approximately 55000 unique codes for injuries diseases and deathsDr Shaikh added that until now ICD10 was being used worldwide which was more than two decades oldHe clarified that although work on ICD11 began in 2007 it has come into effect only this year He said that 300 scientists from 55 countries were involved in creating ICD11Ayurveda homoeopathy to be included subsequentlyDr Shaikh also added that ICD11 has upgradedmodified several disorders such as mental disorders personality disorders gaming disorders sexual health sexual dysfunction and transgenderismInterestingly gaming disorders have been included for the first time He added that a 2021 survey concluded that the gaming market in India is a onebilliondollar market Another survey concluded that 65 per cent of children under the age of 20 years in India are ready to give up food and sleep to play online gamesDr Shaikh also said that a 2014 census concluded that India had officially 490000 transgender people Transgender people are illtreated in India and their inclusion in ICD11 should hopefully trigger a debate regarding their welfareHe further added that mental health is an extremely neglected area of work in India The inclusion of mental health in ICD11 is an extremely important step for India He also lauded the inclusion of sexual health and sexual dysfunction both of which are taboo in India Dr Shaikh added that Chinese herbal treatment has been included in ICD11 for the first time WHO has said that Ayurveda and Homoeopathy will be included in subsequent modifications of ICD11In digital format for first timeldquoWHOGeneva has launched the revised digital form of International Classification of Diseases ICD11 to improve upon its earlier version of ICD10 This is the first major step by WHO towards digitalising health information in the world which will make data available at the fingertips By using code combinations more than 16 million clinical conditions can be coded It will serve a broad range of uses for recording and reporting detailed statistics on healthrdquo said Dr Subhash Hira professor of Global Health at the University of WashingtonSeattle and advisor to WHOTDRGenevaWhen asked the discrepancies in the code from 55000 to 17000 as claimed by WHO 2018 draft Dr Hira clarified ldquoThe draft ICD11 list of 2018 had 55000 unique codes for injuries diseases and death at the advice of WHO General Assembly of 2019 these unique codes were sent for country reviews and subsequently a consolidated 17000 unique codes list has been releasedrdquo He said ldquoIt captures other important details such as the digital documentation of COVID19 certificates the spread of a variety of cancers diagnostic algorithms for mental health conditions and codes relating to antimicrobial resistance sexual health conditions mental and gaming disorders etcrdquoIdentification of trend diseases will be easier Dr Santosh Bansode Head of the Department Emergency Medicine Wockhardt hospitals Mumbai Central said ldquoThis new ICD11 is easier to use and itrsquos really helpful in the classification of all possible healthrelated problems Itrsquos seen that they have even included minute details of diseases into it All this will help in maintaining accurate data about various trends of diseases It will be a great tool in understanding various healthrelated issues prevailing in the communityrdquoUser friendlyDr Ketan Vagholkar professor of Surgery at DY Patil Medical College echoed similar views He said ldquoThe newer version has expanded the definitions of various diseases taking into consideration the changes in presentation as well as outcomes in various diseases It is digital and more userfriendly thereby enabling healthcare providers to not only report but also share valuable experiences Mental health diseases including addictive disorders have been elaborately incorporated in the new version Emerging issues such as global antimicrobial resistance have also been included thereby adding to the surveillance process Untoward events causes of death and cancer reporting have been included in the frameworkrdquo