How RPA in Healthcare is Revolutionizing Patient-Caregiver Relationship

Despite initial assumptions that the scope of automation would be low in healthcare, RPA has proven to be highly effective in streamlining processes and improving patient care. RPA in healthcare has been a complete game-changer, providing immense benefits to the industry. Using software robots or “bots” to mimic human actions and interact with various healthcare systems, RPA can efficiently handle tasks like patient registration, claims processing, data entry, and report generation. This not only reduces errors but also improves operational efficiency.

The global robotic process automation (RPA) market is projected to experience remarkable growth, reaching over $13 billion by 2030. This represents a significant increase of more than $12 billion compared to 2020.

By freeing healthcare professionals from time-consuming administrative tasks, RPA enables them to focus more on patient care, leading to enhanced outcomes and improved patient satisfaction. Implementing RPA in healthcare holds immense potential to drive efficiency, cost savings, and improved quality of care.

Top 5 Applications of RPA in Healthcare

To better understand why the healthcare industry should implement intelligent automation, let us look into some of the top 5 RPA applications in healthcare.

1. Managing & Scheduling Appointments

Automating the appointment scheduling process makes the process quick and smooth without human intervention. Sending timely reminders to the patients and reminding them of the appointment makes the customer feel valued and important. Any changes in the schedule because of the doctor’s unavailability can also be timely informed to avoid confusion and hassle. Read this blog to know how much a doctor appointment app like ZocDoc costs.

2. Account Settlement

Healthcare delivery requires managing multiple accounts of the same patient through consultation, tests, medicines, etc. Managing and calculating them manually is prone to making errors while increasing the wait time. With robotic process automation in healthcare, bringing all the accounts in one place and performing the correct calculation can be done with just a few clicks. Automatically sending push notifications to patients prevents them from waiting in queues for account settlement. 

3. Document Digitization Process

With NLP, OCR, and other data labeling processes, RPA services for healthcare can use intelligent document processing (IDP) to prepare and ingest documents. Patient pertaining repositories that contain data from their health records to insurance claims can be easily prepared and stored. 

4. Insurance Claim Management

RPA in healthcare insurance makes the complex insurance claim process a cakewalk. Automating it ensures the process is completed quickly and all the required compliances are met. RPA in healthcare claims processing makes the whole process smooth and error-free. 

5. Workflow Management

Dealing with regular workflow at any healthcare organization involves multiple processes, including but not limited to patient treatment, inventory management, follow-ups, resource utilization, and much more. Managing all of them manually is undoubtedly a time-consuming, error-prone, and inefficient approach. Robotic process automation in healthcare automates these basic workflows will lead to better utilization of resources with a higher focus on critical activities.

Also Read: How to Use RPA in Finance? Use Cases and Real-World Examples

How Healthcare Organisations are Harnessing RPA: Use Cases and Examples

Numerous healthcare service providers have effectively incorporated automation into their operations after realizing the possibilities of RPA in the healthcare industry. Let’s look at a few actual cases of companies utilizing RPA services for healthcare:

Epic Systems Corporation

Epic, one of the top providers of electronic health record (EHR) software, has incorporated RPA to automate mundane administrative operations. Epic lets healthcare providers concentrate more on patient care and lessens the stress of repeated manual work by automating appointment scheduling, data entry, and claims processing.

GE Healthcare

To improve its revenue cycle management procedures, GE Healthcare has realized the impact of RPA in healthcare and implemented it in its processes. They have streamlined reimbursement procedures, decreased billing errors, and enhanced claims administration through automation. 

McKesson Corporation

One of the best RPA healthcare use cases is the top provider of healthcare services and technology, McKesson, which has successfully automated procedures for managing inventories, streamlining the supply chain, and filling orders. With robotic process automation in healthcare, they can now increase inventory precision, lower manual errors, and guarantee prompt delivery of medical supplies.

These are just examples of RPA in healthcare showcasing the healthcare providers that are using RPA services for healthcare. These firms are revolutionizing the way they implement automation technologies, which streamline administrative processes, foster innovation, improve patient outcomes, and drive change. Let’s move on to discuss the benefits of the same.

Benefits of RPA in Healthcare: Unlocking Efficiency and Accuracy

RPA and AI in healthcare are the top two advanced technologies that not only enhance accuracy but also ensure compliance with regulations. With its potential to improve productivity and deliver better healthcare outcomes, RPA is a game-changer in the industry. Let’s have a look at the benefits that RPA for healthcare has to offer.

Personalized User Experience

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is revolutionizing the way healthcare service providers interact with their customers. By automating mundane administrative processes, robotic process automation (RPA) has the potential to provide a personalized user experience in healthcare, allowing healthcare providers to concentrate more on patient care and enhancing the overall patient experience. This specific advantage fosters customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately driving overall business growth. 

Increased Appointment Turnout

Appointment scheduling can be automated without the intervention of the hospital administrative staff. This will not only eliminate the need for resources but will help in improving customer experience since the appointments can be arranged at a much faster pace. 

By sending reminders using RPA bots, it is less likely for the patient to forget about the appointment, which will increase the appointment turnout. The patient admission and discharge process can also be optimized by providing higher levels of customer service.

Eliminating Human Errors

By implementing RPA in the healthcare sector, hospitals and healthcare centers can eliminate the risk of human error caused by fatigue, distraction, or oversight. This results in improved accuracy, enhanced data quality, increased compliance, and, ultimately, more efficient and reliable operations. 

Better Employee Satisfaction

RPA helps human employees by relieving them of repetitive, boring tasks and enhancing their capabilities of better customer service. This frees up their time to get involved in strategic and intelligence-based roles, thus enhancing their consistent growth and learning. The growth opportunities and the feeling of adding value to the company automatically increase employee satisfaction levels.

Reduced Cost

It is a myth that technology services are pricey. RPA services for healthcare offer substantial savings by performing tasks more efficiently without errors in lesser time. This, in turn, adds to saving on human resources costs while eliminating the repeated tasks because of errors and misses on compliance, thus increasing improved patient care.

Better Data Protection

Data transfer is more secure in automated processes. Considering that the humans handle the reports section, there is a possibility that another employee or an unauthorized person gets access to the reports. Even if this is not intentional, the paper records are easy to access. On the other hand, automated processes limit access only to the authorized person making it secure.

Also, storing the data electronically, extracting it, and migrating it for various purposes like research or second opinion, can be done securely and quickly with the help of implementing RPA in the healthcare industry. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules the use and disclosure of sensitive patient health information as well as establishes requirements for data security and privacy.

Implementing RPA in healthcare is indeed a revolutionary step, but it’s not without its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles is integrating RPA with existing systems and processes. However, with the right solutions in place, these challenges can be overcome, which takes us to our next section.

Solutions to the Challenges Faced While Implementing RPA in Healthcare Businesses

Implementing recent RPA techniques in healthcare can be both useful and challenging at times. Let’s discuss the obstacles you might face while implementing RPA in the healthcare industry and the solutions to overcome those. 

Regulatory Compliance

To safeguard the security and privacy of patient data, the healthcare industry is subject to strict rules. It can be difficult to implement RPA and stay in compliance.

Your RPA solutions should abide by all applicable laws, such as HIPAA. This protects sensitive patient information by putting in place strong security safeguards, encryption, along with accessing limits.

Change Management

Implementing RPA could disrupt current workflows, and employee resistance to change could make it difficult to do so successfully.

Encourage a collaborative and open atmosphere. To get employees on board with RPA, involve them early in the process, provide them with thorough training, and explain the advantages to them. During the transfer, address any concerns and offer continuous assistance.

Complex IT Infrastructure

Healthcare firms sometimes have complicated IT infrastructures with numerous legacy applications, which makes integration and data exchange difficult.

To create a seamless integration strategy, carefully analyze the current infrastructure, pinpoint integration points, and collaborate with IT teams. Make use of middleware technologies and APIs to connect various systems.

Scalability and Maintenance

It might be difficult to scale RPA capabilities to manage growing volumes as healthcare businesses expand. Furthermore, committed personnel is needed to regularly update and maintain RPA bots.

Create RPA systems with the capacity to handle a growing workload and the adaptability to handle future changes. Hire a dedicated team to manage the RPA bot and upkeep, do routine audits, and continuously enhance procedures.

Things to Consider While Implementing RPA in Healthcare

Every healthcare organization needs a robust RPA system to keep up with the latest technology and business requirements. While keeping the vision of the need for automation, it is important to consider a few points while implementing the same.

Implementation Cost and ROI Opportunities

Implementation of any new technology is normally weighed with the cost-saving that it will bring. Most healthcare organizations that implement RPA normally achieve the payback in time as small as 12 months.

RPA Project Failure Rate 

Ensure to take a granular approach to automation by partnering with an experienced and reliable RPA solution provider (such as Appinventiv). Consider the limitations of your IT infrastructure, discuss the requirements elaborately to automate the required process, and take a progressive approach to a complete automation solution.

Skills and expertise of the development team

The healthcare software development team should possess enough experience and expertise in building scalable healthcare apps. They should be thoroughly aware of medical compliances and have complete knowledge of implementing advanced technologies like AI, data analytics, and other patient privacy protection technologies.

How can Appinventiv Help?

The healthcare industry is struggling with the scarcity of specialized resources and patient data management. In such a scenerio, automation is the need of the hour, especially when it comes to healthcare services. Delaying such an investment can lead to missed opportunities for increased efficiency and cost savings.  

By partnering with a healthcare app development company like Appinventiv, you can efficiently and swiftly implement RPA solutions into your existing systems.

Appinventiv can offer you the best-in-class healthcare RPA software development services and build a robust RPA solution for your healthcare business. Having a team of highly skilled AI/ML experts, we take pride in taking up projects for both startups and enterprises. Being an AI and healthcare development company, we have catered to organizations with diversified portfolios.

For instance, we have built a revolutionary solution for YouCOMM, transforming their in-hospital patient communication by providing real-time access to medical help. With a customizable patient messaging system, patients can easily notify staff of their needs through voice commands and the use of head gestures.

Another application was developed for Soniphi, which was based on a resonant frequency-based personal wellness system. We integrated the concept of human bio-acoustic into mobile devices for witnessing the relationship between a voiceprint and the physiology, personality, structure, and function of the human body.

RPA in healthcare acts like a digital assistant, navigating complex operations, thereby allowing healthcare practitioners for a streamlined and hassle-free medical practice.  

Share your requirements with our experts and we will automate your healthcare operations so that you, as a healthcare provider can focus on giving the best services to your patients.  

FAQs

Q. What is RPA in healthcare?

A. Robotic Process Automation in healthcare is a revolutionary technology that aims to transform the entire healthcare landscape by automating time-consuming and repetitive tasks. RPA technology seamlessly integrates with your existing systems, accelerating administrative processes such as patient registration, claims processing, and data entry. 

By reducing human error and increasing operational efficiency, RPA empowers healthcare professionals to focus on delivering quality care and improving patient outcomes. With streamlined workflows and enhanced accuracy, RPA in healthcare paves the way for a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.

Q. How does RPA improve efficiency and accuracy in the healthcare industry?

A. RPA has revolutionized healthcare by automating repetitive tasks, reducing human errors, and enabling seamless data integration. This technology has allowed healthcare professionals to focus on more important tasks while enhancing precision in tasks like data entry and claims processing. With RPA, comprehensive patient information analysis can improve healthcare outcomes. If you’re looking to improve your healthcare efficiency and accuracy, consider implementing RPA into your practice today.

Q. Can RPA be implemented without disrupting the current workflow and processes?

A. RPA for the healthcare industry complements the existing workflows, processes, and procedures that will help implement the RPA without compromising the current system. The future of the healthcare industry cannot be imagined without the implementation of RPA as this helps reduce time-consuming activities, thus helping in improving the quality of patient care.

Q. What is the drawback of RPA implementation in healthcare?

A. The major drawback is that RPA can process only structured data, whereas 90% of the data of the healthcare industry is unstructured. The advent of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) will help in overcoming this drawback.

Q. How do you calculate RPA solution ROI?

A. The ROI is calculated considering the following:

• Number of processes that are to be automated
• Number of resources required to automate the process
• Time required to complete the task
• Cost of deployment of these resources

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER