Coding acute stroke care and telestroke with the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI)

Abstract Background and purpose: Acute stroke care is to detect, diagnose, and treat patients in the shortest amount of time. Access to acute stroke care may however be limited in some areas and telemedicine has been thus used to increase its access. Coding acute stroke care as a health intervention had limited attention in the past. Methods The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) currently under development was used to identify existing codes relevant for coding acute stroke care interventions, including telestroke. A review of the ICHI was conducted to identify codes relevant for acute stroke care by two independent reviewers. Results A matching ICHI code was found for each of the steps in the acute stroke care process but no ICHI codes were available to specifically capture telestroke. Conclusion As telemedicine intervention is likely to become more common in the future, it will be imperative that the ICHI is able to code such interventions.