The organization that initiated ICD codes is which of the following?

• A. WHO
• B. AMA
• C. CDC
• D. NIH

Answer: (A)

ICD codes were created by the World Health Organization to provide a global standard for classifying diseases and health conditions. This organization develops and updates the International Classification of Diseases, guiding how illnesses and mortality are recorded and compared across countries. While the United States adapts ICD codes for national use (such as ICD-10-CM for diagnosis coding), the origin of the ICD system itself is the WHO. The other groups play important roles in healthcare, but they did not initiate the ICD coding system.