Application of the International Classification of Health Interventions for coding interventions in adults with...

The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI), currently being developed, seeks to span all sectors of the health system. Our objective was to determine the coverage of the ICHI for hearing interventions commonly delivered to adults with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

A 3-phase content mapping method was used, which included (1) identification of source terms with an expert panel in audiology rehabilitation; (2) 3 coders independently applied the classification to the source terms; and (3) the coders reached a consensus for each intervention and identified reasons for initial discrepancies with options not linked to a specific code were identified.

Nineteen different ICHI Target categories were identified, with 23 different ICHI Action categories and 82% of the means being "Other and unspecified." There was consensus in codes for 54.3% of source terms, with no ICHI code found for 8.5% of source terms. The greatest number of discrepancies arose from the action, followed by the target. Coding discrepancies occurred as a result of misunderstanding of source terms, the clinical use thereof, and difficulty determining the type of Target.

Despite its broad scope, ICHI's current framework has gaps in its coverage of audiological interventions, particularly those related to sensorineural hearing loss. Addressing these gaps is crucial for improving global data standardization and facilitating the development of more targeted hearing health policies.

This study makes an important contribution to the further development and refinement of the classification, specifically in the context of hearing healthcare.