The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) is a classification method for

primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care ...

encounters. It allows for the classification of the patient’s reason for encounter (RFE), the problems/diagnosis managed, primary or general

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

interventions, and the ordering of the data of the primary care session in an episode of care structure. It was developed by the WONCA International Classification Committee (WICC), and was first published in 1987 by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

(OUP). A revision and inclusion of criteria and definitions was published in 1998. The second revision was accepted within the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

's (WHO) Family of International Classifications. The classification was developed in a context of increasing demand for quality information on primary care as part of growing worldwide attention to global

primary health care Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...

objectives, including the WHO's target of " health for all".Bentsen BG. "International classification of primary care." ''Scand J Prim Health Care.'' 1986 Feb;4(1):43-50.

History

The first version of ICPC, which was published in 1987, is referred to as ''ICPC-1''. A subsequent revision which was published in the 1993 publication ''The International Classification of Primary Care in the European Community: With a Multi-Language Layer'' is known as ''ICPC-E''. The 1998 publication, of version 2, is referred to as ''ICPC-2''. The

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

''ICPC-2-E'', refers to a revised electronic version, which was released in 2000. Subsequent revisions of ICPC-2 are also labelled with a release date.

Structure

Chapters

The ICPC contains 17 chapters: * A General and unspecified * B Blood, blood forming organs, lymphatics, spleen * D Digestive * F Eye * H Ear * K Circulatory * L Musculoskeletal * N Neurological * P Psychological * R Respiratory * S Skin * T Endocrine, metabolic and nutritional * U Urology * W Pregnancy, childbirth, family planning * X Female genital system and breast * Y Male genital system * Z Social problems

Components

The ICPC classification, within each chapter, is based on 3 components coming from 3 different classifications: * Reason for Encounter Classification (1981) * International Classification of Process in Primary Care (IC-Process-PC) (1985) * International Classification of Health Problem in Primary Care (ICHPPC-2-d) (1976, 1983)

References

Bibliography

Bentzen N (ed). WONCA international glossary for general/family practice. Fam Pract. 1995; 12:267.

External links

WICC at WONCA

Primary Healthcare Classification Consortium (Classification Committee)

ICPC-2e
(by the Norwegian Centre for Informatics in Health and Social Care)
University of Sydney Family Medicine Research Centre

ICPC publication bibliography
{{Medical classification Primary care General practice Medical classification International Classification of Diseases Diagnosis classification Clinical procedure classification