The automation of coding.

Automated coding is a rapidly growing technology. The implications of this technology for the clinical, business, and research areas of health care today are dramatic. Before a health care organization chooses an automated coding system it is important that the implications of each of the various types as well as the vocabulary to be chosen are understood. This article will discuss three types of automated coding systems that are currently available, but it will not discuss the merits of the various vocabularies available for use in an automated coding system.