OPCS-4

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OPCS-4, or more formally OPCS Classification of Interventions and Procedures version 4,^[1] is the procedural classification used by clinical coders within National Health Service (NHS) hospitals of NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. It is based on the earlier Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (4th revision),^[2] and retains the OPCS abbreviation from this now defunct publication.

OPCS-4 codifies operations, procedures and interventions performed during in-patient stays, day case surgery and some out-patient treatments in NHS hospitals. Though the code structure is different, as a code set, OPCS-4 is comparable to the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology.

As a publication, OPCS-4 is split into two volumes; a tabular list (Volume I) and an alphabetical index (Volume II).^[3] An electronic version is also available. However, a number of supplementary publications are also used by coding staff.