About us

The NHS Classifications Service delivers national clinical classifications standards and guidance for the clinical coding profession.

Our role

Our role as the national resource responsible for clinical classifications and associated products includes:

• develop, issue and maintain the standards relating to all clinical classification data in use in the NHS (ICD-10 and OPCS-4) promoting the consistency of classification as a key part of delivering a patient-centred health service;
• provide the centre of expertise and a point of contact for international coding classifications work;
• deliver the National Clinical Classifications Helpdesk giving official resolution to all clinical coding queries;
• develop and maintain an extensive portfolio of associated products (including cross maps from SNOMED CT and Read codes to ICD-10 and OPCS-4);
• drive data quality by developing and delivering top notch clinical coding audit methodology and;
• provide an education, training and accreditation programme for clinical coders to support an individual coder's continuous professional development.

Need advice on your work with any classifications data?

Our expertise guides the coding community and associated practitioners. We advise on:

• clinical coding guidance to coders, managers and auditors to assist them delivering a coding service to their organisation;
• the national classifications standards in use in the NHS applied to coding and coding audit;
• the appropriate use of those standards and coding products; and
• the training and qualifications available to support professional development.

For ways to get in touch with any classifications query, please see the Contact Us page.

Training and accreditation

We provide an education, training and accreditation programme for clinical coders. We're also developing a national clinical coding strategy alongside the Health Informatics Programme. This will ensure that the role of clinical coding continues to support the requirements of the NHS. Why not find out more about training and accreditation?

Looking for a registered trainer?

Looking for a registered auditor?