We’re two months into 2022, and business process automation (BPA) is taking over industries faster than ever before.
The concept of BPA refers to technology-driven automation used to perform complex business functions and bring about a higher level of compliance, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
The BPA market is expected to reach 19.6 billion US dollars by 2026, and we’re in a position where we doubt the long-term survival of any business which doesn’t use business process automation to support its operations.
Thanks to the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning, automation has enabled industries across the board to simplify repetitive tasks, get ahead of labour shortages, optimise resources, recognise data patterns, and forecast future market trends.
But, automation in healthcare is an entirely different marvel. The explosion of business process automation in healthcare sectors has resulted in an increase in service quality and improved patient satisfaction.
With intelligent automation, healthcare is transforming into a futuristic landscape, reimagining every aspect of its services, from patient care and communication, to data handling and diagnostic measures.
Here are a few ways healthcare process automation is transforming medical services:
- Simplified clinical data management
Electronic healthcare records (EHR) have been a tremendous resource when handling a multitude of patient data. Especially since these are operations that require thorough attention to detail.
Today, new application programming interfaces have modernised the capabilities of EHRs, enabling healthcare practitioners to extract and handle data as fast as possible. With the help of predictive technologies and artificial intelligence, the process of data retrieval and analysis is made much faster than the industry could have imagined just a few years ago.
Beyond this, robotic process automation (RPA) is another automation process that’s being implemented across the healthcare industry.
The vast benefits of RPA extend to tasks like digitising paper records, using optical character recognition to convert scanned image files into readable text files, extracting data from those files, and transferring them to EHR file structures, or transferring data from one system to another quickly, easily, and without the risk of human errors.
When healthcare institutions are on the move to digitalise and advance their operations, RPA streamlines this transition into modernity.
- Enhanced diagnostic precision
The primary goal of healthcare is to provide a safer, comfortable, and accessible experience to every patient. Today, healthcare providers are capable of doing exactly that owing to the power of healthcare process automation in reducing medical errors and improving diagnostic capabilities.
Using artificial intelligence and process automation in diagnostic operations has enhanced the precision of disease identification, improving the overall service that’s rendered to each patient.
Take, for example, the use of AI in picture archiving and communication systems in radiology departments. The improved interpretation of medical images, prevention of false positives, and high accuracy in processing scan results have made diagnoses a much more reliable process for physicians and patients alike.
More advanced programs are also being developed by researchers and technology providers to identify COVID-19 symptoms and cancers—a much needed complementary system that helps clinicians deliver better care.
In the last two years, the world experienced drastic changes, and the medical sector, in particular, had to rise to unprecedented demands. In light of this, healthcare process automation became an effective solution that could scale to meet varied demands and address rising health concerns.
- Improved administrative productivity
Business process automation in healthcare brings more benefits than just streamlining the front-end of a healthcare institute.
It’s also an asset when it comes to handling administrative and managerial tasks.
Thanks to automation, healthcare professionals can lighten the load of routine tasks from their busy schedules and focus on more specialised work and patient care. This will effectively help reduce burnout, bottlenecks, and patient wait times while boosting professional satisfaction and productivity.
The scope for healthcare includes the streamlining and automation of tasks like:
- Patient reports
- Inventory management
- Employee shift planning
- Patient intake documentation
AI deployments can also be leveraged to generate payments more quickly for healthcare organisations and are specifically useful in revenue cycle management.
Mechanisms like smart billing systems that let you generate bills faster and more accurately mean that your patients don’t have to wait around for their bills to be calculated, or for insurance claims—you can ensure a streamlined payment system within your healthcare ecosystem.
By streamlining all administrative operations, automation reduces the operating costs shouldered by healthcare institutions as well. The elimination of repetitive tasks further contributes to increased overall productivity and the lower risk of human errors translates to reduced overhead costs.
- Greater appointment scheduling efficiency
By streamlining your operations and optimising the resources in your healthcare institution, you can ultimately achieve the goal of providing your patients with a more enhanced healthcare experience.
Healthcare providers can extend their customer services beyond their usual offerings by using advanced tools like appointment scheduling software and appointment reminder software.
Patients can;
- Schedule appointments at their convenience
- Receive electronic reminders of their upcoming appointments
- Receive invitations to reschedule appointments that they missed
These platforms allow patients to see all appointment possibilities and free slots, which means that patients have more control when it comes to picking a time slot that is most convenient for them.
Scheduling software also updates in real-time, helping to avoid scheduling conflicts with the healthcare provider—another way healthcare process automation can enhance internal operations.
In fact, studies have shown that business process automation in healthcare has improved the efficiency of appointment scheduling by 80%.
Business process automation in healthcare—a sophisticated patient experience
Automation functions as an essential asset that drives modern healthcare services, from improving patient experiences to enhancing medical procedures.
Physicians are able to increase the quality of care each patient receives as well as the overall patient experience when they seek medical services at your establishment. This has also meant that healthcare services have become more accessible to a wider community of patients.
If you’re interested in learning more about how business process automation in healthcare works, don’t hesitate to schedule a free consultation with us.