Mission of the United States of America Collaborating Center

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Mission

The mission of the WHO Collaborating Center for the Family of International Classifications for the United States of America (USACC) is to promote the development and use of the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHOFIC), including the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (ICD), the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), and other derived and related classifications and to contribute to their implementation and improvement.

A WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications supports WHO in the provision, use, and implementation of meaningful health information standards to provide high-quality and timely information for health planning and monitoring, as in mortality, morbidity, disability, casemix, primary care, quality, patient safety and traditional medicine, in striving towards best possible health for all peoples.

The mission of the USACC includes:

  1. Assisting WHO in developing, maintaining and revising the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHOFIC), in particular the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the International Classification of Health Interventions, and relevant terminological and ontological aspects.
  2. Supporting global work with active participation in Committees and Reference Groups that assist WHO in the development, testing, implementation, improvement, and use of the family of classifications. Committees and Reference Groups include:
    • Classification and Statistics Advisory Committee (CSAC)
    • Education & Implementation Committee (EIC)
    • Informatics & Terminology Committee (ITC)
    • Family Development Committee (FDC)
    • Mortality Reference Group (MRG)
    • Morbidity Reference Group (MbRG)
    • Functioning & Disability Reference Group (FDRG)
    • Verbal Autopsy Reference Group (VARG)
    • Traditional Medicine Reference Group (TMRG)
  3. Collaborating with local and regional users of classifications, in coordination with WHO, by networking, providing support and disseminating information about the WHOFIC classifications regarding the availability, suitability and applicability of the classifications for different purposes, such as reporting and coding, availability of tools for implementation, data analysis, and interpretation.
  4. Promoting use of the WHOFIC; developing, formulating and sharing teaching materials; and organizing and conducting local, regional and global training courses, as resources permit.
  5. Improving the level and quality of WHO classifications and supporting quality assurance procedures of the WHOFIC classifications regarding mechanisms, norms and standards of classification use, including data collection and analysis.