COVID-19 Emergency ICD Codes

What is the ICD?

The International Classification serves to record and report health and health-related conditions globally. ICD ensures interoperability of digital health data, and their comparability. The ICD contains diseases, disorders, health conditions and much more. The inclusion of a specific category into ICD depends on utility to the different uses of ICD and sufficient evidence that a health condition exists.  

What is an ICD Emergency Code?

The classification has provisions for implementing international emergency codes, in response to epidemics, disasters and novel health events to allow standardized recording internationally. These can only be put into effect by the WHO. 

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. Both this disease and the virus responsible for it (now officially called SARS-Cov-2) were unknown before an outbreak of respiratory illness was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

COVID-19 Emergency Codes

Since the beginning of the pandemic and in response to member state requests, the classification and terminologies unit has been progressively activating emergency codes for COVID-19 in ICD-10 and ICD-11 after consultation with the relevant committees and reference groups of the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) Network.

February 2020: Emergency codes were activated for COVID-19:​

  • confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 ​
  • clinical or epidemiological diagnosis (suspected or probable) of COVID-19​

April 2020: International guidelines for certification and classification (coding) of COVID-19 as cause of death were published in 7 languages. ​

September 2020: A set of additional codes upon request by member states were activated to be able to document or flag conditions that occur in the context of COVID-19. In particular the need for disambiguation between acute disease, late effects or lengthy course led to the neutral formulation “post-covid”. This term does not pre-empt any etiopathological links, and leaves space for linking any condition to a preceding acute COVID.

Update 3 & 4 in relation to COVID-19 coding in ICD-10 

  • Personal history of COVID-19 ​
  • Post COVID-19 condition ​
  • Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 ​

January 2021: A set of additional codes were activated for:

  • Immunization to prevent COVID-19
  • Adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine.      

 

International guidelines for certification and classification (coding) of COVID-19 as cause of death

This document provides instructions for coding and certification of deaths due to COVID-19. The instructions align with the WHO definition of deaths caused by COVID-19 and ICD, and ensure feasibility in all settings.

More information on the coding of COVID-19 is available at the WHO Classifications and Terminologies page. 

COVID-19 Pandemic

More information about COVID-19 and the pandemic may be accessed at the WHO Health Emergencies webpage.