Comparison of ICHI and CCAM basic coding system.

While diagnoses are coded by ICD across the world, there is no universally accepted coding system for procedures. In many countries there exists not even a local classification for medical procedures. As a possible solution the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) has been proposed as a common denominator for an international procedure classification. We alternatively postulate a multiaxial framework for procedure classification following the French Classification Commune des Actes Médicaux (CCAM) for the generation of a procedure shortlist. We compared ICHI and CCAM Basic Coding System focusing on the appropriateness of both systems for supporting the comparability of procedure data. Considering the ongoing standardization of health terminologies and classifications, we strongly recommend to improve the ICHI structure, capitalizing on the benefits of the CCAM architecture.