Can Celik

Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was endorsed by 191 member states at the 54th World Health Assembly.1 The occasion marked a paradigm shift in how the world understood disability – away from a deficit located within the individual, and toward a dynamic interaction between health conditions, a person's functioning, and the physical, social, and attitudinal environment in which a person lives.

Abstract WHO maintains classifications that are crucial for the functioning of the healthcare systems worldwide, namely ICD (International Classification of Diseases), ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) and the upcoming ICHI (International Classification of Health Interventions). The traditional way of making classifications available to their audience was based on printed books, which in turn shaped their usage in health information systems.