She slammed her hand down on the conference table. “We need to be more efficient,” the director bellowed as she breathed in deeply and composed herself before continuing. “The organization is bleeding out, and we must find a way to protect it.”
All eyes were on her as she commanded the room.
A small voice piped up from the back of the room. “Ma’am, we’ve been working on this for months and we’ve already done everything we can to make improvements.”
“That’s not good enough! Bring in the experts with cutting-edge healthcare technology and automation,” she exclaimed.
Setting the Stage
Sounds like a scene out of the latest summer blockbuster, doesn’t it?
Would you be surprised if I told you it was from the late 1700s around the time of the Industrial Revolution?
If so, you’ll be even more surprised when I tell you it was actually from around 760 B.C.
And you probably read about it in high school.
When Homer wrote The Iliad, he dreamed of machine bellows that would stoke Hephaestus’ forge upon a simple command, knowing exactly how much air he needed in the fire to complete each step of his work, and golden servants, “fashioned like living beings” who had intellect, understanding, and skills to help their master without having to be told what to do.
Ok, so I took a little editorial creativity in setting the scene, but go back and check it out for yourself in Book 18 of the famous literary work.
Imagine the Possibilities
Process automation, or at least the idea of it, has been around for millennia and we are just now to the point where facilities that use cutting-edge medical technology are beginning to realize substantial benefits.
Healthcare is no different, and oftentimes offers more opportunities than many other industries to employ automation technology in their organizational processes, which have historically been slower to adapt to technology due to patient privacy concerns.
Process automation works best with repetitive back-office tasks that have high volumes, high margins for human error, and strict security and compliance requirements. In the healthcare industry, this could look something like:
- Patient Admissions and Staff On-boarding Streamline the patient admissions process by automating data entry and verification. Ensure quick and efficient onboarding of new staff with automated credential checks and training modules.
- Scheduling and Appointment Setting Automate the scheduling of patient appointments to reduce wait times and improve efficiency. Use AI-driven tools to optimize schedules and minimize conflicts.
- Billing and Self-pay Administration Simplify billing processes with automated invoice generation and payment reminders. Enhance patient experience by providing transparent and accurate billing information.
- Charge-offs and Third-Party Referrals Automate the charge-off process for bad debts to maintain financial health. Streamline referrals to third-party services with automated data transfer and tracking.
- Claims / Appeals Processing Reduce the time and effort involved in processing insurance claims and appeals. Ensure accuracy and compliance with automated claim validation and submission.
- Insurance / Co-Insurance Filing Automate the filing of insurance and co-insurance claims to improve efficiency. Ensure timely reimbursement with accurate and compliant claim submissions.
- Code Changes Implement automated systems for managing and updating medical coding. Reduce errors and ensure compliance with the latest coding standards.
- Member Management Enhance member management with automated enrollment, updates, and communications. Ensure accurate member data and improve service delivery.
- Enrollment and Eligibility Streamline the enrollment process with automated eligibility verification and documentation. Improve patient access to services with quick and accurate enrollment procedures.
- Medical Record Comparison / Updating Automate the comparison and updating of medical records to ensure accuracy. Reduce manual errors and improve patient care with up-to-date information.
- Chart Digitization and Data Migration Convert paper charts to digital format with automated digitization tools. Ensure seamless data migration with automated processes that maintain data integrity.
- Staff Licensure / Certification Notifications Automate notifications for staff licensure and certification renewals. Ensure compliance and reduce administrative burden with timely reminders.
- Organizational Data Mining and Analysis Use automated data mining tools to extract valuable insights from organizational data. Enhance decision-making with comprehensive and accurate data analysis.
- Remote Patient Monitoring Implement automated systems for continuous remote monitoring of patients. Improve patient outcomes with real-time data collection and alerts.
- Organizational Bid Management Streamline the bid management process with automated proposal generation and tracking. Ensure timely and accurate submissions to enhance competitive advantage.
- Payroll Automate payroll processing to ensure accurate and timely salary payments. Reduce administrative workload and minimize errors with automated calculations.
- Inventory Management Optimize inventory management with automated tracking and replenishment systems. Ensure the availability of necessary supplies and reduce waste.
- Patient Care Coordination Enhance patient care coordination with automated communication and data sharing. Improve collaboration among care teams and ensure continuity of care.
- Compliance and Data Security Implement automated compliance checks and data security measures. Protect sensitive information and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements.
- Population Health Management Use automated tools to monitor and manage the health of patient populations. Improve public health outcomes with data-driven insights and interventions.
- Accounts Receivable / Accounts Payable Streamline accounts receivable and payable processes with automation. Ensure timely payments and improve financial health with accurate tracking.
- Telehealth / Virtual Health Projects Enhance telehealth services with automated scheduling, reminders, and data collection. Improve patient access to care with efficient virtual health solutions.
- Prescription Refill Automation Automate the prescription refill process to ensure timely medication access. Reduce administrative burden and improve patient adherence to treatment plans.
- Emergency Room Triage Automation Implement automated triage systems to quickly assess and prioritize ER patients. Enhance patient care and reduce wait times with efficient triage processes.
Using process automation techniques, like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), to tackle redundant back-office processes can eliminate margins for human error, ensure processes are timely and efficient, assist in security and compliance efforts, as well as offer FTE cost savings.
Cutting-Edge Trends Shaping the Future of the Medical Device Industry
Healthcare has a unique use case as process automation can offer something bigger than just decreasing the bottom line — it can mean an opportunity for lower patient costs and more effective patient care. PWC’s HRI estimates that healthcare costs will increase more than 6% by 2020, so affordable patient care and efficiency throughout the organizations will continue to be at the forefront of industry concerns.
Examples of Hospitals That Use Cutting-Edge Medical Technology for Automated Intubation
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) projects, and process automation in general, see near immediate return on investment (ROI). Software bots have the ability to decrease operational costs while taking the redundancy out of the human workforce, allowing staff to focus on better patient care and ultimately make decisions that require thought and creativity.
Walgreens realized this when they implemented RPA in their HR shared services team and saw a 73% increase in efficiency. They were also able to support a major IT systems rollout without hiring any additional staff and self-funded the initiative to ensure stakeholder engagement and buy-in.
To add to that, Pfizer was able to save 220,000 hours per year while managing its complex medicine supply chain across global markets. By identifying potential compliance risks in a heavily regulated environment and gaining insight into drug usage, they were able to use the data insights to make an impact on their top line.
For highly regulated industries, like healthcare, RPA can provide a solution to repetitive back-office tasks while adhering to strict compliance and auditing requirements. Employing automation not only eliminates the likelihood for human error, but it also limits the exposure of sensitive data which keeps both Operations and IT happy. And because software bots sit on top of existing systems, implementing RPA can often provide a low-cost alternative to updating or replacing old or outdated platforms, a challenge faced by many in the industry who are not prepared for a complete system overhaul.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is the leading university teaching hospital in the West Midlands. It is one of the most consistently highest-performing trusts in the NHS and has been rated “excellent” for financial management and “good” for quality of clinical and non-clinical services for the past three years by the Healthcare Commission. Under a tight timeline, UHB was able to implement the first-of-its-kind patient self-administration kiosk with 51% of patients registering with the kiosk, giving UHB a 50% increase in staff efficiency. Since then, UHB has also used process automation to enhance patient services and further reduce costs.
So, Let’s Recap
Process automation has been around for a long time. In the healthcare industry where patient care is the highest priority and healthcare costs continue rising, employing process automation techniques, like RPA, will help organizations reduce their costs while allowing their staff to focus on providing the highest quality care.
There are many different processes within the healthcare industry that are fit for RPA and some of these are well overdue for a fresh coat of paint. Facilities that use cutting-edge medical technology are at the forefront of this transformation, showcasing the immense potential of automation.
If you’re interested in learning more about cutting-edge healthcare technology and process automation in the healthcare industry, feel free to reach out to us. We’ll talk about what’s working, what’s not working, and what’s possible. We can brainstorm a game plan and give you all the information you need to make an educated decision. This will allow you to take back to your team clear and confident next steps so you know exactly how process automation can fit into your organizational initiatives and what your potential ROI will be.
