When was OIICS developed?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the OIICS in 1992. In 2007, the BLS
edited the manual to provide clarification to coding directions and minor code title
changes based on their years of experience using the system. The minor 2007 OIICS
revisions will not result in a break in series for the BLS occupational injury and
illness data systems.
When will OIICS be revised?
The BLS is planning a major review and updating of the OIICS. A Federal Register notice soliciting comment
was published February 27, 2008. A revised manual is scheduled for release in 2009.
How do I make suggestions for OIICS revisions?
Questions
or comments about OIICS or BLS occupational injury data systems may be submitted to the BLS via e-mail to: OIICS-R@bls.gov
How does OIICS compare to other coding systems?
The OIICS was largely based on the American National Standards Institute’s Method
of Recording Basic Facts Relating to the Nature and Occurrence of Work Injuries,
ANSI Z16.2-1962, revised 1969. The 1995 revision of the ANSI Z16.2 standard was
then based on the OIICS. In addition, the BLS made OIICS as compatible as feasible
with the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification,
released by the Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services in
1989.
How do OIICS Event and Source Codes compare to ICD external
cause codes?
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding system includes a classification
structure for external causes of morbidity and mortality to characterize environmental
events, circumstances, and conditions as the cause of an injury, poisoning, or other
adverse effect. The ICD external cause codes include major divisions that cover
incidents involving transportation; falls; exposure to mechanical forces, electrical
current, radiation, temperature extremes, and smoke or fire; drowning; contact with
hot or cold objects; poisoning; overexertion; and intentional injuries from violence,
legal intervention, and self-harm. At the major division level the OIICS event or
exposure and ICD external cause schemes are quite similar. At a more detailed level
the ICD codes tend to specify the injury source at a macro level in combination
with the event. Because the OIICS uses two codes to specify the event and injury
source, the OIICS allows far more specificity in coding than the ICD external
cause codes.
Is there a crosswalk between OIICS codes and ICD codes?
No crosswalk between OIICS codes and ICD codes has been developed. Limited comparisons
can be made when selection rules and code definitions are similar. However, caution
should be used when comparing OIICS-coded occupational data to other ICD-coded data.
Why code injury and illness data with OIICS?
Systematic characterization of occupational injuries and illnesses aids researchers,
safety professionals, employers, policy makers, and others to reduce occupational
hazards and improve workplace safety interventions. By classifying injuries and
illnesses with the OIICS, direct comparisons with national occupational injury and
illness data provided by the BLS and NIOSH are possible. The hierarchical structure
of the OIICS encourages coding to varying levels of specificity depending upon the
level of detail available and assists aggregation of data results at levels meaningful
to different organizational needs. See the BLS article: Using the
BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System as a Safety and Health
Management Tool.
What OIICS coded injury and illness data are available?
The BLS annually reports the number of fatal occupational injuries by OIICS characteristics
through their Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
Similarly, the BLS uses the OIICS to characterize nonfatal occupational injuries
and illnesses that involved days away from work through their annual Survey of Occupational
Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). NIOSH characterizes work-related
injuries and illnesses treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments by using the
OIICS event or exposure and source or secondary source of injury or illness classification
schemes. These data are available through the NIOSH online Work-Related Injury Statistics
Query System (Work-RISQS).
Why use the OIICS trees?
The online and downloadable OIICS coding resources provide a simple graphical interface
to facilitate using and interpreting BLS and NIOSH injury, illness, and fatality
data characterized with the OIICS. In addition, these tools provide easy access
to complex hierarchical coding structures to aid in classifying work-related cases
by others. Increasing the systematic use and understanding of OIICS through access
to convenient tools such as these OIICS coding resources will benefit efforts to
reduce workplace injuries and illnesses.
Why download the OIICS Coding Resource?
The desktop OIICS Coding Resource is a convenient electronic tool for users who
code or interpret occupational injury and illness data, particularly data from the
BLS and NIOSH. Making it available on your desktop generally increases the lookup
speed and does not require an active Internet connection. The desktop application
also provides the additional ability to
- Print the code trees
- Expand the tree structure completely for all branches
- View all informational content simultaneously