The ESMS/DESDE system is used to classify and describe (in a standardised way), service availability in defined catchment areas. 

It enables planners to analyse existing services, identify gaps, prioritise changes, model alternate service delivery and make comparisons with other local and international health service implementations.

The European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) (Johnson et al, 2000) is a tool that was originally designed for mapping services for adult mental health care. It uses an innovative, hierarchical taxonomy. It was later expanded to support chronic care, disability and ageing.

The Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs (DESDE) (Salvador-Carulla et al, 2013) is a multiaxial coding tool for mapping care provision within a local area, for any target health condition. It follows a whole system approach and currently provides more than 150 codes to map health and social services for a defined target population. It can be used to map health, social, employment, education, justice and housing services.

The tools below are derived from the European Service Mapping Schedule and related to the ESMS system for international classification of care provision.

• ESMS (European Service Mapping Schedule), the brief version (ESMS-b) and the extended Revised version (ESMS-R) for the assessment of adult mental health care.
• DESDE (Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs).

Apart from mental health it has been used for the classification of services for Disabilities (DESDE), ageing (DESDAE), Long Term care (DESDE-LTC), automated evaluation of social services in Andalucia (Spain) (DESDE-AND). It has also been used for mapping Drug and Alcohol Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Chronic care and care for homeless.

• SUS (Service Utilization Sheet)
• CMHS (Community Mental Health Services provision)
• ECM-Q (European Child and Adolescent Mental Health Mapping Questionnaire)
• MHSI (Mental Health Service Inventory)
• Glossary of terms REFINEMENT EU project
• Glossary of terms PSICOST
• PECUNIA
• REMAST REFINEMENT