Healthcare automation solutions vary, covering technological services or products that support different parts of the care journey. Some capture and structure information, while others facilitate task management, data flow, and clinical operations. Ultimately, they strengthen communication between people and data exchange between systems.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of healthcare automation solutions and their core elements. We’ll also provide examples and explore how tools like Heidi can support clinical workflows.
Three key elements that make healthcare automation effective in clinical practice
Healthcare Automation Solutions: Why Do They Matter?
Administrative inefficiencies and outdated workflows are top contributors to the growing pressures in the healthcare industry. In a recent study, admin tasks alone account for at least 30% of healthcare costs, resulting in delays and errors due to manual processes. While clinician burnout is a cause of gaps in care, it is but an unwanted repercussion of outdated clinical workflows overloaded with admin.
Addressing these challenges is crucial for healthcare organizations, as bottlenecks directly impact patient outcomes and the well-being of staff.
Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to automate workflows. The real challenge isn’t finding the perfect tools; it’s finding the right ones for care teams.
When implemented correctly, workflow automation can have significant improvements, such as fewer errors, scalability, and more time to deliver patient-centered care.
Three Basic Elements of the Best Healthcare Automation Solutions
Healthcare automation solutions work best when it functions as an extension of the care team. The most effective solutions capture and integrate information, analyze it intelligently, and deliver actionable outcomes. Here are three key elements that make it work:
1. Data Input and Integration
Automation starts by capturing information from different sources, such as patient consultations, EHRs, lab results, and scheduling systems. Then, this will be organized and standardized into a structured format for analysis.
2. Processing and Intelligence
Once all the data is gathered, information will be analyzed using AI-driven analytics or software to spot patterns. Identifying issues this way efficiently provides insights to support clinical and operational decisions.
3 . Execution and Output
After processing data, it will be executed into concrete actions to automate tasks, including sending reminders, managing follow-ups, or even documentation.
Overwhelming documentation, inconsistent notes that led to dismissed insurance claims, and the distraction of note-taking during sessions were pulling away time and focus from patient care.
Over a 12-week trial, Heidi returned over 6,000 minutes of documentation time and recovered more than $10,000 in clinical capacity. Documentation work no longer spilled into personal time, and clinicians stayed focused during patient consultations.
4 Leading Types of Healthcare Automation Solutions with Examples
Healthcare automation can target different areas of clinical workflows. Understanding each type and determining whether it aligns with an organization’s needs can facilitate effective implementation.
Here are the four leading types of automation, how they work, examples, and key questions to help determine they’re right for your team:
1. Clinical Automation
What it is and how it works: Clinical automation are tools that can support clinician workflows and even patient care. Tasks such as documentation, care coordination, and even decision support can be streamlined using solutions designed to aid in clinical operations.
For example, AI-powered tools like Heidi can capture patient interactions and convert them into structured clinical notes, generate medical codes, and even schedule calls for follow-ups, reducing documentation time and admin burden on clinicians.
How to know if it’s right for you:
1. Are you spending more time on documentation instead of patient care?
2. Are there recurring errors or inconsistencies in clinical documentation?
3. Are patients experiencing delays or gaps in communication between care teams?
2. Operational Automation
What it is and how it works: Operational automation focuses on streamlining the administrative and logistical aspects of processes to ensure that hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations are running smoothly. This includes staff scheduling, inventory management, patient flow coordination, and resource allocation.
An example of this is RotaGeek, a tool that can automatically schedule staff shifts, forecast demand, and match staff skills with workload needs.
How to know if it’s right for you:
1. Are administrative tasks like staff scheduling, inventory management, or appointment management taking up time and resources?
2. Do manual processes often lead to errors, such as double-booked shifts, stock shortages, or delayed patient flow?
3. Would real-time visibility into staffing, resources, and inventory improve efficiency and decision-making?
3. Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Automation
What it is and how it works: Automation for Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is designed to automate financial workflows of patient care from scheduling and registration to billing, claims submission, and payment collection.
Automating this process allows healthcare organizations to reduce errors and improve cash flow. Moreover, it reduces the burden on billing teams and minimizes denied claims.
Utilizing AI tools like Heidi that can analyze clinical notes and generate accurate codes, such as ICD-10, CPT, and OPCS, is an example of automating RCM. This reduces human error and significantly speeds claim preparations and submissions for billing teams.
How to know if it’s right for you:
1. Is your coding and claim preparation still manual and takes up a lot of time?
2. Do staff spend significant time following up on unpaid or rejected claims?
3. Could automated analysis of clinical notes reduce human error and improve coding accuracy?
4. Patient Experience (CX) Automation
What it is and how it works: Patient automation handles routine touchpoints, such as reminders, follow-ups, and surveys, without manual effort to ensure patients stay informed throughout the entire care journey.
For example, enabling automated messages via SMS, email, or even app notifications to remind patients of upcoming visits can help reduce no-shows, thereby automating the patient experience.
Another way to facilitate this is through personalized check-ins after appointments or procedures to help monitor recovery, answer questions, and reinforce care plans.
How to know if it’s right for you:
1. Are appointment no-shows or cancellations impacting workflow and revenue?
2. Do patients fail to follow post-visit instructions or treatment plans?
3. Are staff spending too much time on routine patient communications that could be automated?
Healthcare delivery improves when daily workflows do. Heidi supports all types of clinicians by fixing fragmented documentation. Follow-ups and patient communication with a single, clinician-led workflow give time back where it’s needed and keep care moving.
Heidi: Your AI Care Partner for Modern Healthcare
Healthcare is being pushed to adapt to modern, more efficient workflows. Heidi supports that shift by being your AI care partner. Here’s how Heidi can help you get started:
Focus on patients, not paperwork - Heidi is there with every patient encounter, turning every consultation into templated notes in real time. No need for manual typing or filling out paperwork, so you can stay focused on patient care.
Extend care beyond consultation - With Heid Comms, routine follow-ups, reminders, and patient calls can be handled automatically. Never miss a follow-up and keep care on track.
Create care continuity without the extra effort - By turning clinical conversations into clear records, Heidi helps teams maintain consistency across care and communication.
Heidi helps clinicians focus on care, with 75% reporting more time for patients and 82% noting reduced mental strain. Used by ICBs, Primary Care Networks, and healthcare systems worldwide, Heidi has saved more than 100 million clinician hours and 2.4 million patient consultations weekly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare Automation Solutions
Healthcare automation services are companies that minimize clinician burnout by assuming repetitive tasks. Ensuring efficiency throughout both clinical and operational workflows, this automation reduces costs by minimizing errors and streamlining resource utilization.
