August 4, 2022 By: Tanuj Singh
Long before the global pandemic, the healthcare system struggled to overcome process inefficiencies and lack of adequate funds. And then, the COVID-19 crisis put the already burdened healthcare sector under tremendous pressure. A survey carried out by Morning Consult reports that 18% of U.S. healthcare staff quit their job during the pandemic, and 31% of the healthcare workers have considered leaving.
With the severe rise in efficiency problems due to the increased shrinkage of human resources, health systems worldwide strive to meet the increasing need for swifter and more dependable data processing techniques. They aim to offer quality healthcare services and remote solutions promising stellar customer experience. However, another challenge for healthcare providers (HCPs) is scaling operations and boosting profits.
This need for delivering quality healthcare to the masses while streamlining the RCM pipeline to ensure profits encourages HCPs to embrace Hyperautomation technology. Today, using innovative technologies like conversational bots, process automation, and AI is a norm in the healthcare community.
Hyperautomation in Healthcare: How Can HCPs Use Innovative Technologies?
Next-generation technologies like AI, RPA, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Data Analytics, etc., facilitate end-to-end automation of healthcare processes. Incorporating Hyperautomation in Healthcare automates numerous manual administrative tasks while adhering to regulatory compliance. Ultimately, as operations scale and the RCM cycle improves, HCPs are better equipped to deliver enhanced healthcare solutions to patients.
Here are a few ways how Hyperautomation in healthcare can unlock innovation:
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Automate Workflows
Advancements in AI technologies, such as ML and Computer Vision (CV), have significantly expanded the scope of automated workflows. While traditional RPA can only automate simpler tasks, innovative AI technologies are self-learning and can enhance operations using historical data. They can perform sophisticated data recognition and handle more complex processes.Some healthcare aspects such as IT, supply chain, revenue cycle management, billing, HR, inventory management, and patient scheduling are already benefiting from workflow automation technology, with more potential processes being identified.
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Data Transparency
Data transparency leads to better patient outcomes and lesser medical errors by improving health literacy and patient involvement, collocation, and engagement with HCPs. With patients being in charge of their data, they can regulate it as needed to correct inaccuracies. Now they can integrate all their healthcare data from healthcare-related applications, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and medical records, giving a complete picture to medical professionals. -
Remote Care
Even with the pandemic on the decline, maintaining social distancing and leaving homes only if necessary are some precautions people must follow. Hence, remote monitoring is essential for healthcare organizations and patients.To successfully monitor patients remotely, HCPs deploy data analytics, digital health assistants, and wearables. Patients are encouraged to use applications and devices to monitor their heart rates, glucose and oxygen saturation levels, and blood pressure. Thanks to digital health assistants, patients can receive treatment plans and care recommendations from their doctors promptly.
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Voice Biometric Technology
The global pandemic has enforced the extensive use of electronic health records (EHR) with means such as telehealth. SelectHub, a research firm, puts the EHR adoption rates at 89%. However, most physicians point out that EHR is not user-friendly. Also, patients worry about their data security and privacy. This is where Voice Biometrics comes into play with its zero-friction accessibility and transparency of patient records.HCPs and patients can access accurate and updated information instantaneously when needed. Moreover, the system can play a significant role in cutting down operational costs and reducing data fraud.
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Chatbots
Medical chatbots are AI-powered easy conversational solutions connecting patients, healthcare providers, and insurance companies seamlessly. They also play a vital role in helping relevant healthcare authorities and stakeholders access the required data on time. From improving healthcare processes and aiding medical professionals to communicating with patients, healthcare chatbots can be helpful in multiple scenarios.Poised to alter the interaction between medical care providers, payers, and patients, AI-powered medical chatbots are one of the most influential and matured healthcare solutions developed so far.
Breaking the Ice with Hyperautomation
The adoption of Hyperautomation in healthcare indicates that the innovative technologies under its umbrella will soon become mainstream. After all, Hyperautomation aims to align different healthcare operations to deliver improved outcomes and patient care. It will also help HCPs explore innovation possibilities to achieve viable business value through massive operational improvements and high return on investments (RoI). This will enable HCPs to stay afloat and function in this highly competitive and dynamic market.
As healthcare companies examine the chances of adopting Hyperautomation, they must approach it systematically to reap maximum benefits.
- Launch a clear, concise, and well-defined automation strategy that benefits the technical teams and the business. Gather information on the workflows, processes, and environment, research on finding gaps in the existing system, and determine how Hyperautomation can solve them.
- Involve all the stakeholders and ensure that investments in adopting Hyperautomation align with the anticipated results. Try to conduct surveys and predict the outcomes regarding ROI and efficiency.
- Ensure that the technical team has full availability of and access to the entire digital toolbox necessary to meet evolving business requirements. Investing in the infrastructure and acquiring the correct tools is crucial in the Hyperautomation journey.
- Identify the risks and challenges that may arise due to Hyperautomation and ensure that internal experts are consulted before making any decision to avoid potential issues in the future.
Challenges of Hyperautomation
With more organizations increasing their automation capabilities and going through digital transformation, it is logical to presume they will adopt Hyperautomation. Gartner, Inc. puts the market for hyperautomation software at $596.6 billion by the end of 2022. The technology can usher in meaningful benefits to businesses – making them more agile, competitive, productive, and cost-efficient.
But like every other technology, Hyperautomation also has unique challenges. The most common problems organizations face while using Hyperautomation include –
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Maintaining a Realistic Timeline
One of the major considerations while opting for hyperautomation is the implementation speed. Frequently, an automation drive may not generate the expected results if it is not executed within the prescribed time frame. The team enforcing automation must develop a realistic project timeline and adhere to it. -
Identifying the Right Solutions
Another critical challenge that most companies face while implementing Hyperautomation is failing to identify the right solutions. Organizations must strive to make multiple technologies work together, like automating processes comprising various structures while maintaining profits to match the increased efficiency post-automation. -
Miscalculating Tangible and Intangible ROI
Avanade’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence survey reports that 88% of global executives feel that organizations incorporate AI since it is trending without understanding how to use it and achieve higher ROI rom it. Hence, most companies cannot get the tangible ROI math correct, much less the intangible calculations.
How Can HCPs Overcome the Challenges to Unlock Innovation?
Companies facing the challenges mentioned above while implementing Hyperautomation can consider the following solutions –
- For companies to maintain a pragmatic timeline, strict adherence is required from all technical team members executing the Hyperautomation infrastructure.
- Companies must also invest heavily in infrastructure and acquire the right tools to implement automation correctly. Providing training to the staff is also necessary, with the focus on learning the use of AI, ML, and RPA.
- With a set budget, calculating ROI becomes more straightforward. It is simply a math equation concerning comparing the wholly burdened costs of both to each other over a stipulated time frame and accounting for all the expected revenue streams.
Looking Forward…
Globally, healthcare organizations are shifting toward AI-powered solutions and Hyperautomation to stay relevant in the market. Hyperautomation addresses the far-reaching and impacting inefficiencies of the healthcare sector, improving patient-HCP engagement, insurance claims operations, customer support, and patient data management, among others.
Over the past few years, the healthcare landscape has undergone a rapid transformation with its heavy reliance on EHR, wearable sensors, web apps, and digital patient engagement. Naturally, the data generated every day from these touchpoints is massive. Using the right tools and technology, healthcare institutions can use the data to understand patients’ needs, identify the areas for improvement, develop personalized care and therapy plans for patients, and much more.
