The healthcare industry is currently facing the challenge of rising operating costs and a surge in patient numbers.

To deliver positive patient experiences and comply with strict regulations, urgent action is required. With an abundance of data and many repetitive, accuracy-dependent manual processes, automating processes may be the perfect remedy for the healthcare industry.

Drawing inspiration from other digitally advanced sectors, such as retail, travel, and financial services, hospitals have embarked on enhancing the patient experience at every interaction point.

This includes actions taken even before the visit commences, and extending all the way through follow-up care, following a similar approach. Additionally, a recent survey showed that over 90% of healthcare providers hope that digital transformation brings a better patient experience forth as its biggest benefit.

But how are hospitals already using robotic process automation (RPA) to improve the patient experience? How can it be used to better processes in the future?

Read on to learn more!

Hospitals are utilizing the automation stack for both horizontal tasks like managing IT helpdesks and staffing, as well as for vertical processes such as verifying insurance eligibility or physician credentialing.

In addition to automating tasks, RPA can leverage complementary technologies like AI, ML, NLP, image recognition, and intelligent document processing (IDP) to precisely and efficiently capture, pull, review, and report results to the relevant department.

RPA is revolutionizing the lives of patients, doctors, nurses, and administrative staff in similar ways.

Some other processes that RPA can help with include:

Patient onboarding: RPA bots can automate various tasks involved in the process, including patient registration, data entry, insurance verification, and appointment scheduling.

This automation can help eliminate manual errors and reduce the time taken for onboarding patients, ultimately resulting in a smoother and more efficient experience for both patients and hospital staff.

For example, when a patient arrives at the hospital for the first time, RPA can automatically verify their insurance details and fill out registration forms.

This automation can ensure that all the necessary information is accurately captured and stored in the hospital’s systems without any delays or errors.

RPA can also facilitate communication between different hospital departments, ensuring that patients are quickly directed to the appropriate services and specialists they require.

Medical billing: RPA can automate the manual and repetitive tasks associated with medical billing, such as data entry, coding, claims submissions, and payment processing. This automation can help reduce the time and effort required for medical billing, resulting in faster payments and improved revenue cycle management for hospitals.

RPA bots can accurately capture and process medical billing data from multiple sources, such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs), patient portals, and insurance websites.

The bots can then verify and validate this data against industry-standard rules and regulations, ensuring compliance and reducing errors.

RPA can also help with coding and claims submissions by automatically generating and sending claims to the appropriate payers, reducing the likelihood of claim denials and rejections.

Report generation: RPA bots can collect data from multiple sources, including electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory systems, and billing systems, and then use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to analyze and generate reports.

RPA can help hospitals generate reports quickly and accurately, reducing the time and effort required for manual reporting. The bots can be programmed to generate customized reports based on specific requirements, such as patient demographics, treatment outcomes, or revenue cycle management.

Discharge instructions: RPA bots can help ensure that patients receive timely and accurate information about their post-hospitalization care, which can improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions.

RPA can automate the process of creating discharge instructions, by pulling relevant patient data from electronic health records (EHRs) and other sources, such as medication lists and treatment plans.

The bots can then generate customized discharge instructions that are tailored to each patient’s unique needs and condition.

The future of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the healthcare industry looks promising, as the industry continues to adopt digital technologies and explore innovative ways to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiency.

One of the key trends in RPA in healthcare is the integration of RPA with other emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP). By leveraging these technologies, RPA can be used to automate more complex tasks, such as clinical decision-making, medical imaging analysis, and patient risk stratification.

Another trend is the increasing adoption of RPA in areas such as patient engagement and population health management. RPA can be used to automate patient outreach, reminders, and education, improving patient adherence to treatment plans and reducing the risk of readmissions. RPA can also be used to automate population health management tasks, such as identifying at-risk patients, tracking outcomes, and coordinating care across providers and settings.

Furthermore, RPA is also being used to improve supply chain management in healthcare, by automating tasks such as inventory tracking, procurement, and distribution. This can help reduce waste, improve efficiency, and ensure that the right supplies and equipment are available when and where they are needed.

Overall, the future of RPA in healthcare looks promising, as the industry continues to embrace digital transformation and explore innovative ways to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency. With the integration of emerging technologies and the continued adoption of RPA across a range of use cases, the potential benefits of RPA in healthcare are vast and varied.