A systematic literature review of automated clinical coding and classification systems

Mary H. Stanfill, Margaret Williams, Susan H. Fenton, Robert A. Jenders, William R. Hersh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

164 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinical coding and classification processes transform natural language descriptions in clinical text into data that can subsequently be used for clinical care, research, and other purposes. This systematic literature review examined studies that evaluated all types of automated coding and classification systems to determine the performance of such systems. Studies indexed in Medline or other relevant databases prior to March 2009 were considered. The 113 studies included in this review show that automated tools exist for a variety of coding and classification purposes, focus on various healthcare specialties, and handle a wide variety of clinical document types. Automated coding and classification systems themselves are not generalizable, nor are the results of the studies evaluating them. Published research shows these systems hold promise, but these data must be considered in context, with performance relative to the complexity of the task and the desired outcome.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)646-651
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Volume17
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Informatics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A systematic literature review of automated clinical coding and classification systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this