Clinical coding and classifications | Victorian Agency for Health Information

Clinical coding and classifications, sometimes called health classifications, group aspects of patient information and characteristics into categories based on established criteria, logic and conventions. These categories can then be used for a range of activities that underpin the delivery of health services. These activities include:

health service planning
patient quality and safety monitoring
development and ongoing maintenance/execution of funding models
research and epidemiology.

Clinical coding and classifications are used in the following service categories:

admitted care
subacute and non-acute care
non-admitted care
mental healthcare
emergency care.

The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) undertakes reviews and updates of existing classifications and is also responsible for introducing new classifications for those service categories without an existing classification.

Click here to access current clinical coding and classifications resources.

All Victorian hospitals use the following classifications to assign clinical codes to admitted episodes of care in hospitals.

The Victorian ICD Coding Committee (VICC) is chaired by a health information manager of the Victorian Agency of Health Information. It is made up of q...

The ICD coding queries database supports the clinical coding function performed in Victoria by health information managers and clinical coders.

The Eleventh Edition ACS 0002 Additional diagnoses and ACS 0010 Clinical documentation and abstraction guidelines education supports the consistent ap...

Victoria's additions to the Australian Coding Standards (ACS) supplement the advice in the ACS. The additions are reviewed each year and are effective...

Prior to the introduction of the VICC queries database, HDSS produced the ICD Coding Newsletter to support the coding function and provide education t...