Artificial intelligence for automated ICD-10 coding: a systematic review of multi-label text classification in clinical narratives
Abstract
Background: ICD-10 coding is an essential process in healthcare systems that supports clinical management, reimbursement, and health data analytics. However, the complexity of its hierarchical structure and the large number of available codes make manual coding limited in terms of time, cost, and consistency. Despite growing research in this area, evidence remains fragmented, particularly regarding real-world implementation readiness.
Objective: To review and synthesize existing knowledge on algorithms, datasets, evaluation methods, and real-world implementation readiness of automatic ICD-10 coding systems.
Methods: Eligible studies were original research articles, preprints, or conference papers published in English between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2025, and retrieved from seven academic databases: Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, arXiv, and Google Scholar. Studies were included if they investigated automatic ICD-10 coding from clinical text using machine learning, deep learning, transformer-based, or large language model (LLM) approaches. Methodological quality was assessed using a research-question-driven appraisal framework. This systematic review followed PRISMA 2020 guidance and was preregistered in the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/cegqk.
Results: A total of 257 records were identified, of which 24 studies met the inclusion criteria and contributed 296 experimental evaluations overall. Study quality was high in…
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