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Abstract
Alors que le champ du big data en santé est peuplé de codes de différents types, les sciences sociales se sont peu intéressées aux codes plus « classiques » qui composent les classifications internationales des maladies. Ceux-ci sont pourtant constitutifs du système de santé, tout comme les professions habilitées à les faire exister et évoluer. Grâce à l’analyse de sources écrites telles que des manuels, des rapports ou des classifications, combinée à des entretiens et des observations menés auprès de professionnelles du codage médical, cet article revient non seulement sur les enjeux qui sous-tendent les publications successives de la classification internationale des maladies en matière de choix de codes, mais explore aussi le quotidien professionnel de celles et ceux qui doivent sélectionner des codes pour chaque patient∙e hospitalisé∙e.
While the field of big data in health is filled with codes of various types, social sciences have shown little interest in the more “traditional” codes that make up the International Classifications of Diseases. Yet these codes are the building blocks of the health system, as are the professions entitled to make them exist and evolve. Through the analysis of written sources such as textbooks, reports or classifications, combined with interviews and observations obtained from medical coding professionals, this article not only revisits the underlying stakes in the successive publications of the International Classification of Diseases in terms of code selection, but also explores the daily professional life of those who have to select codes for each and every hospitalized patient.
While the field of big data in health is filled with codes of various types, social sciences have shown little interest in the more “traditional” codes that make up the International Classifications of Diseases. Yet these codes are the building blocks of the health system, as are the professions entitled to make them exist and evolve. Through the analysis of written sources such as textbooks, reports or classifications, combined with interviews and observations obtained from medical coding professionals, this article not only revisits the underlying stakes in the successive publications of the International Classification of Diseases in terms of code selection, but also explores the daily professional life of those who have to select codes for each and every hospitalized patient.