Editing Medical classification (section)

{{Short description|Use of schemes of standardized codes}}
A '''medical classification''' is used to transform descriptions of medical [[medical diagnosis|diagnoses]] or [[medical procedure|procedures]] into standardized statistical code in a process known as [[Clinical coder|clinical coding]]. Diagnosis classifications list [[diagnosis code]]s, which are used to track [[disease]]s and other health conditions, inclusive of chronic diseases such as [[diabetes mellitus]] and [[heart disease]], and infectious diseases such as [[norovirus]], the [[flu]], and [[athlete's foot]]. Procedure classifications list [[procedure code]]s, which are used to capture interventional data. These diagnosis and procedure codes are used by health care providers, government health programs, private health insurance companies, workers' compensation carriers, software developers, and others for a variety of applications in [[medicine]], [[public health]] and [[medical informatics]], including:
* statistical analysis of diseases and therapeutic actions
* reimbursement (e.g., to process claims in [[medical billing]] based on [[diagnosis-related group]]s)
* knowledge-based and [[decision support system]]s
* direct surveillance of epidemic or pandemic outbreaks
* In [[forensic science]] and judiciary settings 

There are country specific standards and international classification systems.