Process automation and digital transformation in the domain of health - healthcare, medical services, medical and pharmaceutical research, and more - offers a myriad of benefits. Some are specific to an industry, others cut horizontally across multiple industries. In this article, we’ll look at four specific ways process automation offers benefits in 4 different types of healthcare related services.
1. Improving the quality of health care delivery through process automation
The first focus in process automation shouldn’t be on automation, it should be on process. Automating an inefficient process doesn’t lead to real improvement!
While many aspects of health care delivery require a case management* rather than a repeatable-process approach, there are still many places where end-to-end processes can be clearly defined.
Automation can help reduce errors and omissions in care processes such as routine cancer screenings. The entire screening process, from patient first contact to test results for determining next steps, can be mapped out using BPMN visual graphics on a BPM process automation platform. Many processes like health and medical screenings cross multiple organizations, and require data into and from multiple siloed record systems that don’t communicate with each other: electronic health records (EHR) and customer relationship management (CRM) databases, for example. A BPM-based process can integrate via APIs and connectors with all of these kinds of systems, including legacy systems. A BPM-based process can mix tasks that must be done by humans with those that can be done by software or robots (such as data entry and records retrieval). Automation speeds up the whole process, enabling faster response to patient health issues that can be life-threatening. Automation reduces the opportunity for errors caused by the need for healthcare professionals to access data and information from multiple systems. Automation improves efficiency by reducing the time it takes to complete individual tasks and the entire end-to-end process. Automation allows healthcare professionals to focus on care delivery instead of clerk work!
“Around 80%, and in some cases more, of activities that happen in hospitals are process or operations-driven, rather than focused on actual healthcare.”
- John Gikopoulos, Global Head for Artificial Intelligence and Automation, Infosys Consulting
*And let’s be sure to add…BPM can also give an efficiency boost to case management, using functions inside the process definition that are easily adaptable, such as business rules and ad hoc task definitions on the fly.
2. Accelerating research outcomes through process automation
Medical and drug research is another area where process standardization and automation can reduce time lost to wasteful, inefficient paper-based processes with siloed data. Research data and results should be standardized, easy to find, and easy to access - across different laboratories, multiple departments and even organizations, and in multiple on-line systems such as LIMS.
So here, too…automation of the process and good integration of third party systems into the process can help the research team collect data faster and more consistently, and with the addition of data mining and other AI technologies, analyze and make results available faster. Bristol-Myers Squibb found that digitizing their paper based analytical process resulted in time savings equivalent to 5 full-time employees. Wasted scientific talent is more expensive than BPM technology. Bristol-Myers Squibb researchers are now more focused on data interpretation instead of “kindergarten tasks of cutting and pasting”, hand-drawn models and manual spreadsheets. Automating repetitive tasks helps reduce research costs and focuses skills where they are actually needed.
3. Optimization of drug supply logistics through process automation
BPM-based processes can improve communications and processes to make supply chains more agile.
“Businesses can better track the availability of critical medicines from raw material to manufacturing to distribution, improving deployment.”
- Catherine Calarco, Automation Anywhere
Automation of end-to-end processes that begin with manufacturing in one facility, through packaging and handling in another, through transportation and delivery across distances and sometimes borders, to sales and distribution points such as health care providers and retail outlets, offers a good way to monitor and control the movements of the entire supply chain.
In this way, employing a BPM automation platform can improve drug traceability and safety throughout the supply chain. Monitoring progress throughout the process in one place saves time and effort not spent on checking multiple systems. Processing errors are less likely, and drug distribution is more efficient.
At the utilization end of the supply chain, automation through BPM can help simplify and streamline medication inventory management processes for health care providers - hospitals, clinics, medical offices and pharmacies.
BPM processes are beginning to employ AI in ways that can help improve the entire supply chain as well. Process mining and process analytics can be used to predict where a supply chain may fail and allow people to proactively take action to avoid any issues before they arise.
“[Improvement of the entire supply chain]...is especially relevant in the healthcare sector because of the life criticality element.”
- John Gikopoulos, Global Head for Artificial Intelligence and Automation, Infosys Consulting
4. Reducing costs through automation of healthcare and life sciences processes
The last point in this article - not the last point for BPM and its impact on medical and life sciences, but we’re just hitting 4 of them here! - is truly the holy grail of any organization: how to reduce costs while still delivering quality results.
As we noted above in Improving the quality of health care delivery through process automation and Accelerating research outcomes through process automation, eliminating inefficient processes and optimizing care operations is one dependable way to reduce costs while freeing up skilled personnel to attend to tasks that improve results.
Managing administrative documents, and managing data across systems like electronic medical records, Laboratory Information Management Systems, and the like is smoother and less error-prone than the usual manual operations. In addition to saving time, better data flow also helps reduce the significant costs associated with medical errors and omissions in care delivery, in both financial and human quality of life - or life and death - terms.
Better processes in healthcare and life sciences leads to better outcomes. BPM can do its part in saving time, money…and lives.
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Bonitasoft understands what business needs to be successful. We’ve built our BPM-based business process automation platform to accelerate business process application delivery for efficiency, continuous improvement, and innovation. Bonita’s flexibility and platform extensibility equips professional developers and DevOps teams with powerful tools to develop highly customized, fully integrated business applications faster.
Here are 3 ways to learn more:
- Build highly personalized, process-based applications today, for free, with our open source Bonita Community Edition.
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Bonitasoft knows its business. This article was not created with the use of chatGPT or any other artificial language technology.
