The ICPC is a logical, clinically-oriented framework that works for sub-specialists as well as primary care. In the United States ICD-9 and CPT are the only widely used classification systems that physicians use that can be ready by both computers and humans.  ICPC was developed by physicians as a more physician friendly classification system.  

International Classification of  Primary Care or ICPC

http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/wicc/pagers/english.pdf

SWICPC associations are currently attached to many Diagnosis, Medications, Plan Items and Order Entry Items.  This may eventually make it much easier to enter diagnoses and orders.

A future benefit of designing SOAPware's SWICPC classification system to closely match the ICPC is the future likelihood of eventually, formally incorporating ICPC-2-E (the current, electronic form of ICPC) into SOAPware. ICPC-2-E is mapped to ICD-10. This could make the transition from ICD-9CM to ICD-10 a bit easier for SOAPware users. SWICPC is similar enough to ICPC-2-E so that we should be able to fairly seamlessly incorporate the commercially available ICPC-2-E to ICD-10 mappings when the need to do so arrives.  For more information on the  ICD-9 to ICD-10 issues  - The Costs and Benefits of Moving to the ICD-10 Code Sets.

To receive the White Paper Documentation on SWICPC when the project was shelved in 2009, please contact SOAPware, Inc. Below is a glimpse of some of the associations between SWICPC and ICPC. There is some utility in identifying specialty-specific SMARText items based on SWICPC codes by filtering on the first 3 characters in SWICPC codes.

For example, searching/filtering on 08.0 can retrieve lists of items in SOAPware that are more relevant to Cardiology. This is true in SMARText, Docuplates, and in Document Designs.