ICPC-2 : Purpose

Purpose and definition of the classification
Title: The International Classification of Primary Care Version 2. Short title: ICPC-2
ICPC is a classification which reflects the distribution and content of aspects of primary care. It was designed as an epidemiological tool to classify data about three important elements of the health care encounter ie reasons for encounter (RFE), diagnosis or problem, and the process of care. It is designed for use in paper based statistical collections and in electronic information systems for both encounters and episodes of care. It has inclusion and exclusion criteria in addition to paper based and electronic indexes to guide appropriate usage. Maps are provided from other classifications such as ICD-10 so that ICPC may also be used as an ‘organising principle’ for data collected in those classifications.

ICPC was designed for the collection and analysis of patient data and clinical activity in the domains of General/Family Practice and primary care. This collection and analysis can occur at the level of an individual patient for clinical care, at the practice level for recall, clinical audit and activity analysis and at the regional, State and National level for health services research and statistics. It can be used to classify terminologies and other classifications in electronic health records to facilitate decision support and patient safety systems.

Relationships to other systems/classifications

ICPC-2 is included in the Unified Medical Language system (UMLS). (US work funded by the US Department of Health & Human Services; work in Australia funded by the National Health Priorities and Quality Branch DHAC).

The inclusion of ICPC-2 into the UMLS provides provide the basis on which to complete a two way best fit map between ICPC-2 and other classifications and terminologies in the UMLS.

ICPC-2 is mapped to:- ICD 10 (a two way map)

Components 1 and 7 of ICPC-1 are mapped to:-

ICPC-1 is also mapped from:- Read Clinical Codes