International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)

The International Classification of Diseases is WHO’s global standard to report and categorize diseases, health-related conditions and external causes of disease and injury in order to compile useful health information related to deaths, illness and injury. 

The ICO Task Force on ICD-11 coordinates the Topic Advisory Group (TAG) for Ophthalmology to formulate definitions and diagnostic criteria for the relevant categories, and to suggest changes to the classification structure. 

This 11th revision to the ICD is a major one; it aims to serve not only the WHO’s need for public health statistics, but also the terminology needs for Electronic Medical Records and other Health Information Technology applications.

The WHO has a special interest in defining the Global Burden of Disease as a means to compare the impact of various diseases and to set health policy priorities. For vision, this translates to the Burden of Vision Loss.