Diagnosis Classification: ICD-10

Question 1

What does ‘ICD’ stand for?

Answer 1

The Internal Classification of Diseases

Question 2

Who are the authors of the ICD?

Answer 2

The World Health Organisation (WHO)

Question 3

How many versions of the ICD have there been?

Answer 3

10

Question 4

How many languages has it been translated into?

Answer 4

43

Question 5

When did the ICD start?

Answer 5

1893

Question 6

How often is the ICD updated?

Answer 6

Every decade

Question 7

What does the ICD include?

Answer 7

A standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management, and clinical purposes.

Question 8

What version of the ICD included the first addition of mental disorders?

Answer 8

The ICD-6 in 1949

Question 9

The ICD-10 contains 10 groups of mental disorders, give 3 examples.

Answer 9

1) Delusional disorders
2) Mood disorders
3) Clinical/personality disorders

Question 10

How do clinicians form a diagnosis using the ICD-10?

Answer 10

There are 3 different books that they have to use together to ensure a standardised diagnosis.

Question 11

What section do mental disorders fall under?

Answer 11

Section F

Question 12

Using the example of depression, state how section F would be used for a diagnosis.

Answer 12

Section F is used to represent mental disorders by splitting them into categories which represent a number between 1-10 and so a mood disorder would be F3. This is then specified into the disorder using another number whereby depression is signified with F32.

Question 13

Using the example of depression, state how the extension of the amount of numbers after the letter F can lead to a more specific diagnosis.

Answer 13

More digits tell you the specific sub-type of disorder and so depression being F32 can extend to F32.0 to signify mild depression which makes the diagnosis more specific.

Question 14

What is the reason for the ICD-10 using such a specific diagnosis?

Answer 14

The intense level of specificity of the diagnosis may help in determining a quick and relevant treatment.

Question 15

Give 5 strengths of the ICD-10.

Answer 15

1) The ICD being produced by The WHO makes it available worldwide and so data is more comparable due to large scale
2) Multi-lingual makes it more generalisable to other cultures
3) Quick and specific treatments can be established
4) Covers all health conditions which may provide a more holistic view towards a mental disorder
5) Standardised procedure of 3 manuals and using digits to form diagnosis

Question 16

Give 4 weaknesses of the ICD-10.

Answer 16

1) Non-specific to mental disorders and so doesn’t go into as much detail as the DSM
2) Only updated every decade whereby new disorders can arise, leading to potential misdiagnosis due to outdated info
3) Doesn’t provide explanation for disorders and is only a descriptor of symptoms
4) Dependent on approach of clinician and so has issues with subjectivity and consistency