Korea’s KCD Content Included in WHO ICTM Development Project

The WHO ICTM creates classification system that standardizes language and terminology used in reference to traditional medicine worldwide. 

Some of the elements of this development project have been parts of the disease classification system, which were included as new chapters in the 11th revised edition of the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

The interest in and demand for traditional medicine is growing worldwide, but there was no tool to categorize and tabulate the use of traditional medicine objectively and systematically. In 2006, the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) began to focus on the development of international classification systems for traditional medicine. Then, in 2007, the WHO ICD approved the development of the new chapter, and in 2010, the resources of China, Japan, and Korea sparked an enthusiastic start of research.

In June 2018, the 11th revised version of the WHO ICD with the chapter on traditional medicine became available for viewing online at https://icd.who.int. All materials and results of the 2007 preparation for the WHO ICTM development to the research in 2010 on diagnosis concepts and other detailed content development, terminology standardization, and other topic advisory group(TAG) research* can be viewed in the document, along with the 2015 international peer review and 2017 international field trials results.

*ICTM TAG consist of Patterns and Diagnosis TAG, Interventions TAG, Terminologies TAG, and Informatics TAG

Korean Medicine was systematized before this project, which has resulted in Korea standing as one of the leaders of the ICTM from the outset. The content of the Korean Classification of Diseases (KCD) was assembled during ICTM development and the opinions of a number of Korean specialists were reflected in many instances.

A representative from the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “The WHO-ICD 11 chapter on traditional medicine includes content from Korean Medicine on standardizing disease classification, which is not only symbolically significant, but it is intrinsically meaningful in and of itself to be able to see how and how much traditional medicine is being used qualitatively and quantitatively around the world.”

Additionally, the WHO-FIC allocates a local session to the host country, and panels on Korean Medicine classification system will convene. Information on Korean Medicine classification will be shared to members from all over the world, and it is anticipated that the chapter on traditional medicine will also be introduced.