Saving Healthcare Admins Time with the Power of Automation
As an administrative professional with a background in healthcare, I have seen first-hand how technological advancements aid healthcare professionals in delivering top notch care. With technology, medical professionals can easily update and retrieve patient information without having to sift through stacks of papers. However, there are still many time consuming processes in place that leave an open door for human error.
Manual data entry always played a large role in my previous healthcare admin responsibilities. I often found myself spending countless hours on manual data entry processes that largely focused on maintaining patient records. Current health records are crucial to timely billing and making informed decisions about patient care. However, keeping records current and flowing can quickly become an endless feat when there are large numbers of patients being managed regularly. I have spent hours, sometimes days, manually scanning hard copies of patient records onto the computer and attaching them to electronic medical records one by one. Other times, I might find myself reading from paper copies of documents and manually transcribing information into an electronic template.
At one point I remember thinking “I wish a robot could just attach these documents for me!”
Little did I know at the time…this is actually possible! These manual tasks were a crucial part of my job, but so incredibly time consuming. I had to neglect other important aspects of my role as a result. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), we can automate repetitive data entry processes like these using a bot. Bots can be programmed to read a high volume of scanned documents and attach them to the appropriate patient record, ultimately saving back office professionals like me precious time and resources. Bots also have the ability to function within any windows-based platform, keeping compatibility issues to a minimum.
In addition to keeping records current, it is equally as important to ensure documents are attached in the correct file. One of the first things you will learn about as a healthcare professional are HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws and the importance of privacy when handling PHI (protected health information). When humans are tasked with hours upon hours of repetitive data entry, it is very easy for mistakes to occur. Unfortunately, small mistakes can carry some big consequences. Simply attaching a health record in the wrong place could mean compromising a patient’s PHI and violating HIPAA privacy rules.
So, how does using a robot to manage your medical records help avoid HIPAA violations?
Robots don’t make mistakes! In short, the bot will only do what you tell it to do. The bot is programmed to follow steps in a predetermined sequence. If a certain task cannot be completed by following that particular order of steps, the bot will not be able to follow through with the task. Furthermore, the bot can be programmed to notify the user when it is unable to complete a task or if a problem is encountered that would require a thinking person’s review. This makes things like attaching a medical record to the wrong patient file virtually impossible. As long as the bot is programmed correctly, it will complete the task at hand with accuracy every time, decreasing the likelihood that PHI becomes compromised.
Medical record management is just one of many possible areas that healthcare professionals can leverage the power of RPA.
Despite modern advancements in technology, many of us have yet to harness the full potential of digital transformation. While some processes have been made easier, others still require some degree of manual intervention from the user before that technology becomes useful. If this is the case, does our technology really end up saving us any time at all? The answer can be yes, but we will have to start thinking more critically about the everyday tasks that consume much of our time. The good news is that you don’t have to be an RPA expert to start uncovering your automation potential. If you’ve ever thought to yourself “I wish there was a robot that could do this for me!” Well… there probably is! The possibilities with RPA are endless.
Want to discover more ways healthcare professionals can leverage the power of RPA? Take a look at our e-book!
Jessica Zaniewski, Marketing Coordinator of CampTek Software. For further questions, discussion or inquiry about CampTek Software Services, contact info@campteksoftware.com.
