Why in news?

• The World Health Organization has for the first time recognised “burn-out” in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is widely used as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurers.

Highlights:

• It could help put to rest decades of debate among experts over how to define burnout, and whether it should be considered a medical condition.
• WHO defines burn-out as “a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic
  workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
• The syndrome is characterised by three dimensions:
• Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to
  one’s job
• Reduced professional efficacy.

ICD:

• The ICD is the global health information standard for mortality and morbidity statistics.
• WHO was entrusted with the ICD at its creation in 1948.
• ICD is increasingly used in clinical care and research to define diseases and study disease patterns, as well as manage health care, monitor outcomes and allocate resources.
• More than 100 countries use the system to report mortality data, a primary indicator of health status. This system helps to monitor death and disease rates worldwide and measure progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
• About 70% of the world’s health expenditures (USD $ 3.5 billion) are allocated using ICD for reimbursement and resource allocation.