ICD-10-AM is the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification. It consists of a
tabular list of diseases and accompanying index.
ICD-10-AM was developed by the National Centre for Classification in Health and has been in use since 1998. It was developed with assistance from clinicians and
clinical coders to ensure that the classification is current and appropriate for Australian clinical practice. ICD-10-AM is a derived version of the World Health
Organization (WHO) ICD-10. It uses an alphanumeric coding scheme for diseases and external causes of injury. It is structured by body system and aetiology, and
comprises three, four and five character categories. ICD-10-AM is updated on a regular basis, with the regular updates of ICD-10 being included as part of the
The Australian Classification of Health Interventions has also been in use since 1998. ACHI was based on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and was previously
known as the Medicare Benefits Schedule-Extended (MBS-E). The NCCH developed it with assistance from specialist clinicians and clinical coders.
ACHI codes have seven digits. The first five digits are the MBS item number where one exists. The two-digit extension represents specific interventions included
in that item. The classification is structured by body system, site and intervention type. Interventions not currently listed in MBS have also been included
(e.g. dental, allied health interventions, cosmetic surgery). ACHI consists of a tabular list of interventions and accompanying alphabetic index.
Since 2007, NCCH has been leading the development of the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). The long term implications of ICHI for ACHI
will, in time, require substantial discussion among interested parties in Australia.
The Australian Coding Standards have been developed with the objective of satisfying sound coding conventions for use with ICD-10-AM and ACHI. They apply to all
public and private hospitals in Australia. The ongoing revision of the Australian Coding Standards ensures that they reflect changes in clinical practice, clinical
classification amendments and various user requirements of inpatient data collections.
The first seven editions of ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS were developed by the National Centre for Classification in Health (NCCH), The University of Sydney. The AR-DRG
classification development was previously managed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA).
The Eighth Edition of ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS (implemented 1 July 2013) and AR-DRG v7.0 were developed by the National Casemix and Classification Centre (NCCC), The University of Wollongong.
The Ninth Edition of ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS (implemented 1 July 2015) and AR-DRG v8.0 were developed by the Australian Consortium for Classification Development (ACCD), The University of Sydney.
ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS is supplied in hardcopy format as a five book set. Electronic versions are available from various providers. With each edition, the following
are also produced:
- ECLs (electronic code lists)
- Mapping tables between the new edition and previous edition of ICD-10-AM and ACHI.
- ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS Chronicle of Changes - a reference tool that documents changes between editions.