Challenges of Integrating ICD 11 into Automatic Alerting Systems

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Automatic alerting systems (AASs) enhance adverse health event detection but rely on manual interpretation.
• Current emergency communication lacks full automation due to the complexity of coding diverse adverse events.
• Integration with standardized coding systems like the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is crucial for automation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore challenges in integrating the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11) into AASs for enhanced emergency communication.
• To analyze external causes of morbidity and mortality within ICD-11 for potential integration points.
• To identify specific themes and challenges hindering seamless integration.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of ICD-11's external causes of injury chapters and dimensions.
• Identification of key themes: incident of injury, mode of transport, indoor/outdoor location, and building type.
• Evaluation of conceptual differences, injury identification, ICD-11 data granularity, and code specificity.

Main Results:

• Four primary challenges identified: conceptual discrepancies, injury identification issues, limitations in ICD-11's 'below the shoreline' data, and lack of specificity in certain codes.
• ICD-11 currently supports post-event coding in EHRs but not real-time injury reporting integration.
• Themes like mode of transport and location present integration complexities.

Conclusions:

• Successful integration of ICD-11 into AASs requires addressing identified challenges.
• Recommendations include developing an AAS data dictionary and proposing ICD-11 updates for external causes of injury.
• Enhanced integration can lead to more granular data for optimal emergency dispatches and automated communication.