The World Health Organization (WHO) has adopted ICD-11, the latest revision of its International Classification of Diseases, including a new classification system for chronic pain. The decision was made at the World Health Assembly on 25 May 2019.
The new classification system for chronic pain was based on extensive research and data collected over the last six years by an International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Task Force, chaired by IASP Past President and WHO Liaison, Rolf-Detlef Treede, Dr. Med, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany, and co-chair Winfried Rief, Prof. Dr., Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany. As a result of this leadership by the IASP, the new pain classification system will transform patient care and pain research worldwide.