This European Prestandard speclfies a procedure for the registration of coding schemes used in health care for any purpose. It also specifies the allocation of a unique Health Care Coding Scheme Designator (HCD) to each registered coding scheme. A code value can thus be given an unambiguous meaning by association with an HCD.
The method by which an HCD and a code value are associated is not defined by this standard. The association is achieved in any manner appropriate to the syntax used.
This European Prestandard does not specify the coding schemes to be used in health care, give guidance on their selection nor describe methods of representing information in coded form.