The Indian government is pushing for the inclusion of Ayurveda and related traditional medicine systems in the 11th revision of the World Health Organizations International Classification of Diseases as the second module of a supplementary chapter on traditional medicine conditions.
key points
- The move aims to provide a standardized language for global recognition and integration of these traditional systems.
- The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) serves as a common language for health care professionals in the world, allowing them to share standardized information.
- The aim is to bring the Indian system of medicine on the world map and provide it with a standardized language.
- This will enable the integration of traditional medicine into insurance coverage and reimbursement systems, in line with WHO’s larger objectives related to universal health coverage.
- It will also link traditional medical practices to global traditional medicine norms and standard development.
WHO’s International Classification of Diseases
- ICD-11 came into effect from January 2022.
- It contains approximately 17,000 unique codes and over 1,20,000 codable words, which are completely digital.
- ICD provides a common language that allows health professionals to share standardized information worldwide.
- The Traditional Medicine Module of the 11th Revision provides a list of diagnostic categories to collect and report traditional medical conditions in a standardized and internationally comparable manner.
- ICD-11 features the inclusion of Module-1 that covers traditional medical conditions originating in ancient China that are now commonly used in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere around the world.