Introduction: The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2, Wonca) has become a standard classification worldwide. It is therefore increasingly integrated and used as a basic tool in the electronic health record (EHR) internationally.
Methods: This workshop will present and discuss the structure of ICPC, its principles of use, and the various benefits doctors can get from using it routinely in the EHR, and also the ethical issues related to the management of electronic patient health data.
Results: ICPC-2 classifies the important elements in the EHR of the GP, especially the health problem(s) diagnosed, the process of care and possibly the reason(s) for encounter. This operation is made easier by using an interface terminology mapped with ICPC-2, as implemented in Belgium with the 3BT thesaurus. ICPC-2 can be used in connection to a “Ligne de vie” representing patient health and care. It allows easy on-line access to French-speaking clinical guidelines via the refCISP Web portal. In the Médecins du Monde French health centres, ICPC-2 is used “manually” in a first stage, especially for providing evidence on the health state of consulting deprived patients. A special point will be made on the Charter for an Ethic of Medical Informatics, published by the Cisp-Club (in collaboration with the SFTG).
Discussion: ICPC-2 can be used for quality improvement (with decision support systems) and quality assurance, and for primary care research. It also supports communication with other specialists through its linkage to ICD-10. The GP should feel accountable for confidentiality of patient data.