The COVID-19 crisis has clearly shown the crucial role of an effective healthcare system for our society and economy. Despite its importance, the healthcare industry faces significant financial strain and staff shortages due to labor-intensive processes. This scarcity extends beyond doctors and nurses, leaving drastic gaps in healthcare infrastructure.
It’s not just the pandemic. Looking ahead, demographic shifts such as an increasing population only magnify these issues, pressing for innovative solutions.
So how do we fix this?
To address these pain points, healthcare providers are beginning to adopt digital transformation. Robotic process automation (RPA) is emerging as a promising technology that can directly tackle these issues and accelerate business digital transformation. From enhancing resource allocation to simplifying daily activities, RPA can transform the current healthcare situation. In this explainer, we’ll discuss how the global adoption of RPA can revolutionize healthcare for better medical care. Let’s dive in!
RPA Statistics in Healthcare
Healthcare is experiencing major difficulties in different areas, putting considerable stress on public and private hospitals.
The industry is highly regulated, resulting in several inefficiencies. For instance, a large majority (88%) of patient appointments and bookings are still handled manually, causing delays of up to 76 days from referral to appointment.
On top of that, hospital administration and insurance processes add another layer of complexity. This bureaucratic back-and-forth with documents and invoices can really frustrate patients trying to navigate it all.
Did you know the healthcare industry spends a mind-blowing $2 billion every year just on poorly handled manual tasks related to managing provider data? And insurance companies aren’t far behind, dishing out millions to fix provider data quality errors.
This is why the rise of robotic process automation (RPA) is significantly impacting healthcare. RPA is similar to having a virtual assistant that manages repetitive tasks, ensuring data accuracy and timely patient care. Healthcare tech adoption of new, emerging technologies like RPA enables hospital networks and healthcare providers to drive efficiency, improve operations, cut costs, and evolve faster.
What Are the Benefits of Integrating RPA in Healthcare
In the healthcare sector, RPA tools and medical software can effectively ease numerous challenges caused by growing workloads, diminishing workforce, and escalating costs.
Here are some of the most compelling advantages of Robotic Process Automation in healthcare.
Lower Administrative Costs
Contrary to popular belief, integrating technology doesn’t have to break the bank. Medical RPA solutions reduce operational costs and labor expenses by 60% to 80%. By eliminating the need for manual intervention, they also reduce staffing requirements by 20% to 60%.
Enhanced Data Security
RPA bots minimize data exposure and vulnerability by handling sensitive information without human intervention, ensuring that data center security protocols are strictly adhered to and reducing the risk of breaches.
Faster Processes
RPA can perform mundane tasks much faster than humans, creating a virtual workforce that operates around the clock.
Improved Data Accuracy
RPA solutions reduce errors associated with manual data entry and ensure consistent data across healthcare organizational systems.
Increased Productivity
By implementing automated processes for manual tasks, employees can redirect their attention to addressing intricate issues that require human judgment.
Enhanced Compliance
RPA bots make it easier to track and audit, reducing headaches when it comes to following statutory regulations.
Happier Patients
With reduced administrative burdens, healthcare workers can focus more on patients and give them the attention they deserve.
Prevention of Burnout
By handling repetitive tasks, RPA helps prevent employee burnout and boosts job satisfaction among healthcare professionals.
Enhanced Patient Outcomes
RPA ensures data accuracy, enabling physicians to make informed decisions and deliver optimal treatments more efficiently, ultimately improving patient health outcomes.
Improved Compatibility Between Systems
Healthcare systems can seamlessly share information across different platforms, including EMRs (Electronic Medical Records) and EHRs (Electronic Health Records). This improves access to health information and patient care management.
Applications of RPA in the Healthcare Sector
Let’s examine some of the typical RPA applications used in healthcare to understand why the healthcare sector should adopt intelligent automation.
Streamlined Entry and Synchronization of Patient Data
Ensuring a seamless appointment and follow-up involves numerous complex tasks, such as:
- Collecting basic patient information
- Gathering medical history
- Verifying valid insurance details
- Aligning patient appointments with the doctor’s schedule
- Notifying the patient or doctor of any changes
These tasks are manually performed due to a non-centralized data collection system, resulting in numerous repetitive actions. However, with Robotic Process Automation (RPA), these duties can be carried out swiftly and precisely. This not only lowers operation costs but also improves effectiveness.
ALSO READ: Enhancing Efficiency in Business Processes with Data Automation
Effective Management of Healthcare Supply Chains
Managing the supply chain in healthcare is a big deal—it’s complex and expensive.
RPA offers a strategic advantage by streamlining critical administrative functions. From managing purchase orders to mitigating procurement risks, RPA optimizes every step. It simplifies order setup and entry, ensures meticulous inventory management, and fine-tunes supply and demand-side planning.
This saves time and money and reduces mistakes, making everything run more smoothly.
Meeting Regulatory Standards and Security in Healthcare
In the healthcare sector, it’s really important to safeguard patient data and ensure that regulations like HIPAA run them. However, manual processes or working across different applications can make this tedious. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), healthcare providers can ensure they’re on track.
RPA helps healthcare providers by tracking and documenting each step of their processes in organized log files, meeting audit requirements. It also ensures patient privacy through secure features like role-based access, so only authorized personnel can access patient data.
Automation can even assist patients in requesting their health data without the need for manual intervention. In the US, the 21st Century Cures Act guarantees timely access to digital health information.
ALSO READ: Cloud Security: Strategies for Protecting Critical Digital Assets
Track and Manage Valuable Hospital Resources
Hospitals sometimes struggle with outdated legacy systems, which can make it hard to keep track of valuable equipment. For instance, “As per HPE studies, nurses end up spending nearly about 6,000 hours each month searching for lost equipment, taking away from their important duties.” This not only wastes time but can also impact patient care, causing longer wait times and delays in treatment.
Using RPA, digital sensors, and cloud-based control panels can solve this problem. It makes it easier for staff to find equipment, maintain accurate inventory records, and monitor equipment conditions for prompt replacement of faulty items.
This contributes to the efficient operation of hospitals and guarantees that patients receive the necessary care without any avoidable delays.
Optimizing Staffing Solutions
Ensuring hospitals have the right number of staff each day is crucial to prevent burnout and ensure quality care within budget constraints.
RPA can assist hospital administrators in this balancing act. It helps them organize schedules, track attendance, and keep an eye on employee performance across various systems. Additionally, bots can ensure that all information regarding staff, such as performance, salary, and work hours, is accurately maintained and synchronized.
ALSO READ: 8 Types of Operating Costs Businesses Should Manage
Revolutionizing Clinical Trials
Creating a new medication can usually cost as much as $2 billion, and its effectiveness is not guaranteed. Clinical trials are essential in drug development and contribute significantly to the high expenses involved in this procedure.
This is where RPA steps in to offer much-needed efficiency and cost savings.
RPA can automate tasks like updating the Trial Master File (TMF), ensuring accurate and flawless records without human error. Additionally, access to extensive datasets can assist in patient matching, helping ensure diverse and representative trial populations.
Moreover, ML-powered bots can streamline administrative tasks and regulatory submissions, leading to faster, more precise, and more affordable clinical trials.
Conclusion
Integrating RPA into healthcare workflows is just the beginning. The sooner healthcare companies start using this new technology, the better they can cut costs and improve their finances. And it’s not just about money—patients will benefit, too. As technology keeps advancing, there are even more possibilities ahead. From how we diagnose and treat patients to how we interact with them and handle paperwork, digitalization is set to transform every part of healthcare.
About the Author:
This article was created in collaboration with Joy D’Cruz – a content marketing specialist currently working with SaSHunt. Joy has a keen interest in researching topics related to B2B and SaaS. During weekends, he enjoys spending time watching YouTube.
