Automation has transformed almost every aspect of our lives. It has been adequately employed in other industries like manufacturing and transportation, but very slowly and perhaps, differently in the healthcare industry. There are numerous benefits that automation is bringing in healthcare. For instance, it results in improved efficiency and synergy in all the processes involved in the delivery of services.
Scheduling
Smart scheduling tools are improving the way nurses deliver their services to patients. They match nurses’ specialty with the needs of the patient, facilitating better scheduling and appointments, especially in the home care. Also, automation provides nurses with real-time patient information and therefore significantly eliminating inaccuracies and errors. It also facilitates mobile workforce where medical professionals visit patients in their homes. This reduces the number of hospital visits which is essential to patient recovery.
Converting Data into Medical Code
Automation is also simplifying the coding process which forms an integral part of medical insurance claims. Primarily, medical coding involves translating patients’ information such as diagnosis report, prescription, lab report, and other procedures into alphanumeric codes used to make insurance claims. Initially, it was costly and time-consuming due to the amount of documentation involved. Fortunately, technologies such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing are making it easy to convert documents into codes. Research has shown that these technologies are resulting in cost-saving of up to twenty-five per cent and streamlines coding operations.
Data Management
Unlike other industries, there is a lot of data produced in healthcare on a daily basis. This is because every stage of service delivery to the patient is logged and processed. Lack of efficient systems and infrastructures may result in errors and inaccuracies which can have a negative impact on the patient. In the past, doctors relied on disparate sources of patient data from different departments in the hospital. However, automation helps in improved management and processing of data, assisting professionals to make better and informed decisions.
Currently, the ageing population and more people requiring care are increasing while staffing levels are not able to keep up with the demand. In fact, according to Health Affairs, the nursing shortage is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. A deficit of this magnitude is desperately calling for automation of processes to eliminate redundancy and manual tasks. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is providing new opportunities for improving delivery of services in the industry. Actually, a KMPG study shows that RPA in the healthcare reduces cost by up to fifty per cent. Besides, it also helps to improve efficiency and productivity, unlike manual processes.
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