How Automation in Healthcare is Revolutionizing the Industry?

Author: Arun Pillai

According to Precedence Research, the healthcare automation market is set to grow at a CAGR of 10.33% and reach a valuation of US$ 91.6 billion by 2030. As of 2021, the market was valued at US$ 37.8 billion.

With the growing volume of patients and mounting operating costs, automation in healthcare is the need of the hour. Not only does this reduce the burden on medical professionals, but it also drives patient satisfaction.

The impact of automation in healthcare is substantial. Here are some ways the healthcare sector benefits by integrating technology-

1. It Reduces Costs

Forbes reports that Robotic Process Automation in healthcare can help cut costs by as much as 50%. RPA is a software technology that allows healthcare facilities to streamline their workflows, making them more flexible, responsive, and profitable.

From appointment scheduling and managing the billing process to ensuring regulatory compliance and insurance claim management, RPA does it all. This reduces employee overtime, drives productivity, and reduces errors, improving efficiency.

Further, by performing mundane, repetitive tasks, such as data entries, patient contacts, etc., RPA reduces the burden on healthcare providers. This allows them to concentrate on patient care more thoroughly. They can now do more in less time with the integration of technology at work.

For instance, a healthcare professional requires a patient’s past medical history to decide on a treatment plan. All they need to do is feed the name into the software, and they will get all the necessary information without delay.

Without automation, they would have had to contact the administrative department or the patient directly, both of which take time and burden the already heavy work schedule of the medical professional.

2. It Facilitates Efficient Data Management

Maintaining accurate patient data is extremely important for a healthcare facility. But this can be a dull, time-consuming task that is prone to errors. Since it doesn’t require any human interference, it can be managed by software rather than by precious human resources that can be better utilized elsewhere.

Patient data plays a critical role in treatment. From the stage of diagnosis to the stage of prescribing medicines, patient information is a deciding factor through all of them.

Doctors must study past treatment plans, allergies, and other similar information when analyzing their patients. In case of any error in their details, it can cost the doctor, the patient, and the healthcare facility heavily.

With automation in healthcare, these situations are eliminated. Additionally, the integration of automation allows for periodic data checks as well. The software can be programmed to notify patients to recheck their details saved with the hospital and update them if required. This ensures data hygiene is maintained and healthcare professionals operate with the correct information.

Lastly, if doctors need targeted information for a particular day, treatment process, or even a patient, integrated automation can retrieve it immediately, enabling faster resolutions.

Additional read: Why Data Enrichment Matters and How Often Should You Do It

3. Automation in Healthcare Drives Patient Satisfaction

The top priority for any healthcare facility is patient satisfaction. This is an essential factor for deciding how successful your organization is. If patients are happy with your services, they will return to you for all medical aid and spread the word too.

Integrating automation like RPA can drive patient satisfaction. It can perform processes like,

• Patient onboarding
• Schedule appointments
• Generate reports
• Manage customer prescriptions
• Generate medical bills
• Stipulate discharge instructions

RPA improves a patient’s experience with your facility by making all necessary information accessible with a single click. Further, the software can notify patients of,

• Upcoming appointments
• Results of medical tests
• Post-treatment care
• Bill payments
• Other updates

Additionally, you can add features like chat boxes, FAQs, and additional information on your website to facilitate convenient communication with your patients.

4. It Improves Marketing Efforts

By integrating automation into their marketing efforts, healthcare facilities can utilize technology-powered communication strategies to deliver a personalized experience to their patients. This means you can automate email and text messages for important occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, holiday greetings, etc., helping you stay connected with your patients. It helps establish a communication channel with patients, making them feel valued.

Additionally, integrating software into your offerings will help you gain insight into how your services are received. Having a feedback portal accessible to patients will help you understand areas that need to be improved.

Further, patients can be given referral codes to encourage them to recommend your service to their friends and family. Referral management software can also be utilized to build connections with other healthcare practitioners.

For instance, if one healthcare facility lacks a specific expertise that you offer, they can refer their patients to you and vice versa. This helps increase your reach and build a good reputation within the industry.

Additional read: How to Make the Most of Email Automation

To Sum Up

Automation is disrupting every industry, including healthcare. However, its adoption in the sector has been slower than desired. Regardless of the size of the healthcare facility, it is burdened, unprepared, and working with obsolete technology. And this has affected its efficiency and utilization of resources.

With zero disadvantages of automation in healthcare, healthcare providers need to rethink. Automation in healthcare helps drive patient welfare, increase revenue, and, most importantly, streamline administrative operations to allow healthcare practitioners to concentrate on patient care.

The future of automation in healthcare is bright, and it is time for healthcare professionals to start reaping the benefits of integrating it into their lives.

References:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/04/30/how-to-use-automation-in-healthcare-marketing/?sh=5ab06d87e831

https://nanonets.com/blog/impact-of-healthcare-automation/#what-are-healthcare-automation-use-cases