OPCS-4

OPCS-4 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Interventions and Procedures, version 4) is a medical classification used by the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. It is used to code surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and interventions.

History

OPCS-4 is the latest version of a system that has been in use within the NHS since the 1980s. It was developed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, a former department of the UK government, which has since been incorporated into the Office for National Statistics.

Usage

OPCS-4 is used throughout the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is used in a variety of settings, including hospitals, primary care and community health services. The codes are used for a variety of purposes, including clinical coding, health informatics, healthcare quality assessment, healthcare resource allocation, and healthcare planning.

Structure

OPCS-4 codes are alphanumeric, and consist of a letter followed by three numbers. The letter indicates the section of the classification, and the numbers indicate the specific procedure or intervention. There are 19 sections in total, covering a wide range of medical and surgical procedures.

Updates

OPCS-4 is updated annually by the NHS Digital to reflect changes in medical practice. The updates are based on feedback from users of the system, and are approved by the NHS Classification Service.

See also

• ICD-10
• SNOMED CT
• Read code

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