Process optimization ih the healthcare sector
For greater efficiency and productivity: with robotic process automation (RPA), digital assistants perform routine tasks automatically. This reduces the workload and makes employees happier.
A Robot assistent for every employee
When software robots perform manual tasks, they work reliably, do not tire and make fewer errors than humans. This significantly accelerates process optimization in the healthcare sector.
Automation in the healthcare sector offers nursing and administrative staff in hospitals a modern solution to the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Digital software robots imitate simple manual IT tasks. Prerequisite: The data must follow clear rules, be standardized and structured. Unstructured data or data that requires individual decisions is not suitable for digital assistants using RPA technology in the healthcare sector.
Robotic assistants can be used, for example, to archive or transmit documents, create approvals, configure orders, screen CVs or write payslips. Robotic process automation (RPA) enables a wide range of automation steps and applications. The process is always the same: an event occurs, e.g. an employee's digital sick note. A bot identifies it in the mailbox and forwards it to the right place - quickly, securely and in a targeted manner. Such routines do not require the time-consuming deployment of specialist staff. In this way, digital process management in the healthcare sector saves costs and time, which is then available for advising patients.
Digital process management in the healthcare sector complements the skills of staff in healthcare facilities and helps to reduce errors through the controlled processing of individual tasks. Automation relieves the burden on everyone who has a digital bot at their side. Especially in the healthcare sector, which is under high financial pressure, relief means greater competitiveness and agility. Those who have more time for their core tasks again ensure higher quality and better performance.
On the road to digital transformation, players in the healthcare sector cannot avoid automation. Process automation is an important milestone in the ultimate goal of hyperautomation. Only in combination with other technologies such as AI and intelligent business process management (iBPM) does RPA unfold its full effect. Compared to more complex technologies such as AI and iBPM, RPA has the task of automating simple activities. The gain in satisfaction as well as cost and time savings is enormous. Even if they seem simple, such tasks are made up of many individual work steps that need to be rationalized in a meaningful way.
Digital process management offers benefits to many stakeholders in healthcare facilities.
For management and administration, process automation in the healthcare sector makes it possible to process large volumes of data quickly. In hospital management, for example, this can relate to sustainability management (ESG) or legal requirements. In administration, automated tasks arise in customer service, for example. The processing time of digital mailboxes is also noticeably shorter thanks to automation in the healthcare sector. In the very first step, RPA in combination with OCR can help to digitize analogue processes by generating structured data from paper documents.
Patients and relatives can already come into contact with RPA when making appointments. Robot assistants make appointments and remind patients to keep them. Thanks to robot-assisted process automation, administrative staff and nursing staff have more time for advisory or nursing services. This leads to greater employee loyalty - an important argument in times of a shortage of skilled workers.
For all players in the healthcare sector, automation means that they save valuable manpower and time. This turns stressed or understretched employees, who previously struggled with simple manual tasks, into happy ambassadors for a healthcare facility. Staff turnover is reduced through process automation in the healthcare sector.
Our services – Your benefits
According to a US study, the market for robotic process automation (RPA) will grow by more than 26% worldwide by 2034. Automation will become even more important in the healthcare sector.
Take a look at the benefits:
As a hyperautomation tool, RPA technology aims to reduce simple, standardized and repetitive manual tasks through automation. Automation platforms that meet the highest standards of security and compliance are a fundamental prerequisite for accelerated processes and greater efficiency. With the infrastructure of Telekom Healthcare Solutions and our partner UiPath, the market leader for RPA software, players in the healthcare sector are able to implement digitization projects effectively.
We make automation in the healthcare sector secure: digitization processes of our American partner UiPath are carried out via the Open Telekom Cloud. The UiPath platforms comply with security standards that are a matter of course in Europe, e.g. the GDPR. Another security aspect: the data centers are located in Europe and are maintained from Europe. This guarantees data protection and data sovereignty. As a result, customers enjoy a high degree of flexibility, security and transparency when it comes to process automation in the healthcare sector.
In the Open Telekom Cloud, Telekom Healthcare Solutions provides a business platform from UiPath that can be easily integrated into existing hospital information systems. Entire processes can be digitized end-to-end on this platform. On the customer side, this is done via the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software. All automation steps continue there. It can be operated by a Center of Excellence team, which guarantees easy handling and successful digital process management in the healthcare sector.
What is Robotic Process Automation?
Robotic process automation (RPA) is one of the basic requirements for hyperautomation. This allows companies to use various technologies to raise their business and IT processes to a higher level of automation or to start using automation at all. In combination with other technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), business process management (BPM) and intelligent business process management (iBPM), RPA is key to hyperautomation. While BPM and iBPM are used for complex processes, RPA is used to automate simple tasks. They usually occur where people carry out repetitive, manual, rule-based tasks that involve large volumes and do not require decisions. These are often tasks in the IT secretariat of an administration or the care facility of a hospital.
Why is Robotic Process Automation relevant?
Digital process management is of great importance to many players in the healthcare sector because it increases competitiveness. RPA is an effective optimization approach. This is particularly evident on the personnel and cost side. However, these are not the only areas that can benefit from robotic process automation.
RPA frees up employees for more value-adding activities in line with the principle: less administration, more time for care. In a stressful working day, employees often feel underchallenged by simple administrative tasks and lose interest in their job. This can lead to high staff turnover. If bots do the work, this can be prevented. On the cost side, digital process management also brings significant benefits: Errors are reduced and the costs arising from defects are kept low. Overall, automation leads to lower costs for labor and personnel.
How does Robotic Process Automation work?
What are your organization's business goals? Your digital process management is geared towards these. First, a team must identify all the processes that are suitable for automation. The individual business case is decisive in the selection process. This is evaluated in terms of complexity, processing time and process frequency. Simple processes are best suited to RPA, and the data must also be available in digital form so that a bot can process it. Secure platforms with the corresponding services are available for automation in the Telekom Open Cloud. Once the software has been implemented, the digital assistant can start work. It imitates the keystrokes on the keyboard and “reads” the documents to be automated. Let's take an email, for example: It is first understood and classified using AI. The bot then reads out the metadata, which is saved and processed further. Finally, the bot can move the email to the corresponding digital mailboxes.
Which processes are suitable for RPA?
Not all processes are suitable for the introduction of Robotic Process Automation. They must meet the following requirements for RPA:
Previously performed manually and repeatable at a high frequency (e.g. daily, weekly).
Rule-based: If, then functions must be fulfilled. Are fixed processes in place? This offers ideal conditions.
Data must be available in digital form: Bots can only process digital content.
The volume of transactions should be as high as possible.
Standardized process: It should be stable and not have to continuously improve itself so that the robot does not have to change along with it.
Where is Robotic Process Automation used?
Players in the healthcare sector use robotic process automation (RPA) wherever manual processes need to be optimized. The following areas of application are conceivable:
| Finance department | Invoice processing, creation of SEPA mandates and data maintenance, data transfers |
|---|---|
| Personnel department | Resume screening, payroll accounting and master data processing and digital personnel file |
| IT department | Data migrations, database management, creating accounts & accesses and license management |
| Nursing and management staff | Staff deployment planning, documentation and uutomated assignment of billing codes |
| Doctors | Filling trauma register, automated patient discharge letter and vaccination management |
| Patients | Patient admission, admission and discharge management and transportation / referral |