Background
The International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2) is a classification method designed for primary care. Although previous studies have found that ICPC-2 is a useful tool for demonstrating the relationship between patients’ expectations and health providers’ diagnoses, its utility of ICPC-2 has yet to be fully studied in Korea. This study aimed to evaluate the practicality of ICPC-2 in Korean primary care.
Methods
The study was conducted at primary care clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas from October to November 2015. Third-year family medicine residents examined and analyzed the medical records of patients who visited primary care physicians using ICPC-2, and the results were compared with those obtained using the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) (Korean version: Korean Standard Classification of Diseases-7).
Results
A total of 26 primary care physicians from 23 primary care clinics participated in the study. Furthermore, 2,458 ICD-10 codes and 6,091 ICPC-2 codes were recorded from the data of 1,099 patients. The common disease codes were vasomotor and allergic rhinitis (J30), according to ICD-10, and acute upper respiratory infection (R74) in ICPC-2. Comparing disease status by body systems, the proportion of gastrointestinal disease with ICD-10 codes was significantly higher than that with ICPC-2 codes (P<0.001). Furthermore, patients with >4 diagnoses accounted for 36% of the ICD-10 classifications, whereas those with >4 diagnoses accounted for 4% of the ICPC-2 classifications.
Conclusion
Introducing ICPC as a complementary means for diagnosing common diseases could be a practical approach in Korean primary care.

Citations

• Association of the Pay-for-Performance Program with Emergency Service Utilization and Hospital Admissions in Asthma Patients: A National Matched Cohort Study in Taiwan
  Chang-Hung Tsai, Yeong-Ruey Chu, Pei-Tseng Kung, Wen-Chen Tsai
  Journal of Medical Systems.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Evaluation of Diagnoses According to ICD‐10 and ICPC‐2 in Family Medicine Practice: A Retrospective Study
  Olgun Göktaş, Marta Laranjo
  International Journal of Clinical Practice.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef