Apart from the operative side, healthcare organizations also have to indulge in administration. Without administration, healthcare service offerings cannot be operated the right way. As the demand for healthcare service offerings has increased in recent years, entities are struggling with administrative tasks. With outdated technology and software systems, healthcare entities cannot manage patient traffic efficiently. When patient traffic isn’t managed efficiently by a healthcare organization, it leads to patient leakage. To find solutions, the healthcare industry is now navigating towards the use of new-age technologies. One must have heard about the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Read on to know the impact of AI (Artificial Intelligence) on automating healthcare workflow and administrative tasks. 

Understanding healthcare workflow and administration

Are you familiar with healthcare workflows? Healthcare workflows are documented steps taken by a hospital to manage the workload. Healthcare workflows can also be stored on a software system. All the departments within a healthcare organization follow a pre-decide workflow. Healthcare professionals don’t have to worry about where to start. Healthcare service offerings can be operated according to the steps mentioned in the workflow. Healthcare workflows can also be referred to as process flow charts. Healthcare workflows can include several things such as:

• The maintenance of a hospital facility is done with the help of workflows. Patients research the facilities at a hospital before choosing it for further treatment. From building security to the availability of amenities, several things are to be managed by the healthcare entity. With a dedicated workflow, healthcare employees can detect the vulnerabilities of the facility and improve them.

• What process will be followed by patients coming for a routine check-up? To decide this, healthcare entities create a routine check-up workflow. It helps healthcare organizations to manage patient traffic for routine check-ups. From patient billing to time allotment, everything can be done according to the pre-decide workflow. Similarly, a separate workflow can be created for the admission of emergency patients.

• Do you know that more than 20% of patients using opioids for pain misuse them? It is commonly known as the opioid crisis, where patients abuse the medicine prescribed to them. There are many other challenges with clinical prescription in 2022. To tackle these challenges, many governments have strict rules for client prescription. If a healthcare entity fails to follow the compliance laws, it may face repercussions. To avoid such mishaps, hospitals have to strictly monitor client prescriptions. A dedicated workflow for client prescriptions helps a healthcare entity to stay compliant with the laws.

• Healthcare entities have access to vast amounts of patient data, medical history, drug-related info, and treatment info. All this information is sensitive and has to be stored securely by a healthcare organization. If healthcare data is unlawfully passed on to someone, a healthcare organization can land in legal hassles. With outdated technology, healthcare organizations cannot stay compliant with the data-sharing regulations. An AI-enabled workflow can help healthcare entities automate the data accumulation and sharing process.

• Surgeons and doctors do not operate without having a pre-decided workflow. For example, before a surgical operation, doctors have to decide on the pre-operative procedure. Deciding on the pre-operative process manually can take time. No one wants to take precious time from a patient during an emergency. For the same reason, AI-led solutions are used to decide the pre-operative workflow immediately.

As you can see, healthcare entities have to decide on several workflows. Without workflow orchestration, patient traffic, compliance, and administration are not possible. Creating so many workflows manually in a short span is a challenge. It is why the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare workflows has increased. 

Understanding the role of AI in automating workflows and administrative tasks

The many roles of AI in automating workflows in the healthcare industry are as follows: 

AI reduces employee burnout

More than 90% of clinicians feel that mundane administrative tasks are the main reason behind their burnout. A hospital is not everything about the operation theatre. From billing to patient appointments, several mundane administrative tasks have to be managed by healthcare professionals. Do you know that implementing AI for data entry can alone save an hour a day for a healthcare organization? Implementing AI for administrative tasks will help both clinical and non-clinical employees. An AI-based system can handle all the repetitive administrative tasks with the least manual interference. It will allow healthcare professionals to focus on high-initiative tasks within a healthcare organization that requires a human element. 

AI-led workflows reduce chances for human error

Human errors are bound to happen in any industry sector. Unfortunately, human errors in the healthcare industry are critical and can lead to disastrous events. To prevent the chances of human error, AI-led workflows are enabled by healthcare organizations. With business process automation in healthcare, internal resources will not go to waste. For example, a healthcare entity may not predict the patient traffic accurately and end up accumulating unwanted medical equipment. To manage the supply chain, the healthcare industry should rely on predictive analytics models. A healthcare organization can stock up on supplies based on patient traffic and seasonal demands. Similarly, an AI-led system can reduce the number of claim denials for a healthcare organization by eliminating human errors. Manual workflows are full of errors that end up reducing the ROI (Return on Investment) of the healthcare organization. When the frequency of human errors is reduced, a healthcare organization can slash overhead costs. 

AI automates data-related tasks within a healthcare organization

Healthcare organizations have to use historical data for several processes. They also have to store and analyze real-time healthcare data. A manual workflow for data accumulation and sharing isn’t feasible. Healthcare data comes from different sources, and manual accumulation can get tricky. Healthcare organizations that manually collect data from different sources are already struggling with data silos. With the help of AI, one can automate the data collecting and sharing process within a healthcare organization. AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) is a viable solution for healthcare entities looking to make the best use of data. Automate administrative tasks using AI in 2022