ICPC guide provides health professionals greater understanding of patient functioning, promotes person-centered care

Through a series of patient visit episodes, members of the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians demonstrate how the recently updated International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-3) can allow primary care physicians to better document patient encounters with care providers and to understand trends in patient outcomes over time. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) is the most widely used international classification for capturing and organizing clinical information in primary care. The third edition of the classification system, released in 2020, allows clinicians to record the reason for the encounter, patient functioning (activities and participation), and personal preferences linked to morbidity. The ICPC-3 has also added a new chapter on visits related to immunization; special screenings; public health promotion; classes for programs related to specific health conditions; and nationally and regionally relevant classes.

The authors assert that implementation of the ICPC-3 in an electronic health record yields improved health information to primary care professionals and supports better information exchange within medical teams and between primary and secondary care staff. It also provides policymakers and funders with insight into what is occurring in primary care and has the potential to improve care. Authors advocate the use of ICPC-3 in all primary care health care settings, considering that it supports interoperability between classification systems such as ICD-10, ICD-11, ICF and the clinical terminology system known as SNOMED CT. They assert that it can also help health care professionals understand how patients do or do not experience improving health.

The research was published in The Annals of Family Medicine.