Connecting people, process, and workflow has always been a bit of a struggle for Health IT. OK, it’s been a big struggle. Over the years, we’ve made “limited” strides in terms of interoperability. It has not been fast, it has never been easy, and we continue to deal with the lack of connectivity on a daily basis. This has never been more apparent than recently, as we realized the inability to test our efficiencies at the scale that they’re being used today.
What we’ve learned over the last six months, is that connection matters. A month after a public health database failure caused the distortion of COVID-19 test results across the state of California, they began the implementation of a new reporting system, powered by OptumInsight Inc, which will replace the troubled California Reportable Disease Information Exchange, and is scheduled to be live in October. Just this week, the state of Florida cut ties with a large reporting lab, citing an issue of delays with result reporting. Rules and regulations have changed often, making it difficult to juggle tasks in an already overburdened system, many times with a remote staff trying to keep step with drastic shifts in demand. The role of digital connectivity has never been so critical as it is today. Automation holds great potential to improve the quality, as well as the process of patient care.
We need accurate, transparent, and efficient tools to meet challenges, ensure operational continuity, and support healthcare services. Healthcare is predicted to have a 36% automation potential, meaning that more than a third of healthcare tasks, especially front and back-office functions, could be automated. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) allows organizations to automate these tasks just like a human being was performing them, across applications and systems, yet with 100% accuracy. During a time when accuracy and delays bog down the health system, RPA closes some of the gaps. RPA improves connectivity issues, by collecting and aggregating the right information from the right system, and securely sending this information to state and federal reporting agencies.
The ROI for automation is clear:
A large outreach lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center streamlined their registration process. Previously, the process required staff to pass through several healthcare information system (HIS) modules to complete. Boston WorkStation enters codes into the laboratory module and automatically populates the abstracting module. This allowed them to save 35 seconds per registration. That didn’t seem like much until they calculated it over an average of 5,500 registrations per week and found the automated workflow saved nearly 60 hours or 1.5 FTEs each week.
Here’s a few projects that have proven to be the most impactful for our clients, allowing them to reduce inefficiencies, and maintain regulatory compliance:
- Automate lab and remote site processes, specifically in telehealth
- Automate required reporting as required by CDC, HHS, public health agencies
- Centralize data from multiple areas/facilities impacted by COVID-19
- Automate the purchase order (PO) process for supply chain and PPE
- Process associated revenue cycle transactions, tasks, updates, and reports
Automation is not the panacea for everything in Health IT, but it is a key resource. Now more than ever, we need to double down on our efforts to support the people and services in healthcare. It allows us to elevate people from “human doings,” burdened by mind-numbing, repetitive tasks, to human beings, empowered by technology advancements. If we can help in expediting order entry, route results, gather data from disparate sources, or put together actionable reports, please give us a call. Our mission is to simplify tasks, so you can work smarter, not harder. Most solutions are implemented in < 30 days, with automated lab reporting live in < 14 days.
Why Boston Software Systems?
Boston Software Systems has been ensuring RPA projects remain on track since 1985. Bridge the gaps with a proven business model that maximizes effectiveness and reduces manual, tedious tasks across the healthcare ecosystem.
For more information on how we can help your organization navigate the healthcare automation landscape, contact us at: 866-653-5105 or visit us at www.bostonsoftwaresystems.com.