Why is it that with increasing technology adoption, the barriers to ease of use only seem to be going up? Isn't technology meant to remove these barriers in the first place and make doing work easier?
Take the healthcare industry's example, which has a plethora of technology solutions to choose from. But a poor implementation strategy and understanding has led to less streamlining/reduction of processes and instead created more work for healthcare staff. What's more, the cost of these ill-utilized solutions would fall under administrative costs. Interestingly enough, the administrative bloat in the US healthcare system accounts for over 30% of all healthcare spending.
The post-acute care industry is worse off in keeping up with the technology updates, with several organizations using fax machines even today. With administrative overheads that cost both time and resources strewn across the post-acute care landscape, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the perfect fit for the industry. With RPA, complex processes that require repetition and several clicks can be performed with no manual intervention, faster and more efficiently. Imagine all the tedious administrative tasks, rule-based documentation required by compliance done while the caregiving staff gets to focus on the patient care experience, working on top of their license.
However, you might wonder what that entails. What tasks can RPA automate for a post-acute care organization? Can it only be utilized in one department or more? Even within a single process, there are multiple workflows, can they be automated too? We can't answer all your questions here. So, we are sharing the five most important processes that RPA can automate for post-acute care organizations.
1. Intake Automation
The intake management process is critical to any post-acute care organization. It has multiple processes that have the potential to be automated for efficiency from managing bed occupancy optimally, managing referrals, checking eligibility, and more. Here's what you can automate:
- The multiple daily discharge & referral modules
- Patient transitions between different service lines
- Eligibility check to system of record
- Authorization management to system of record
2. Clinical Automation
Clinical processes in post-acute care bring in massive volumes of data management required by regulations and compliances. They are a critical part of the revenue recognition activities and any error can mean potentially delayed/lost revenue. RPA can take on several of these tasks and perform them quickly, without error and zero fatigue. Here's what you can automate:
- Scheduling activities across service lines
- Quality Assurance checks and compliance audits
- OASIS file submission through iQIES
- Review Choice Demonstration
3. Medical Records Automation
As more technologies come into the fray, the challenges of integrating with the existing tools, systems of records, and other operations come to the fore. Managing all these integrations can be a tedious process that sometimes adds more work instead of reducing it. RPA without any interoperability limitations can be the perfect solution to handle integrations delivering better operational efficiency and faster outcomes. Here are some integrations that you can automate:
- Orders/Physician notifications
- Migration of active census to a new system
- Clinical & Financial due-diligence audits
- Certain HR tasks and related activities
4. Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
The faster revenue can be recognized, the better decisions post-acute care teams can take to facilitate the best patient care experience. With billing in post-acute care requiring authorizations, medical coding, and much more, RCM is a long-drawn process. With several tasks important for processing payments requiring documentation that can take days or even weeks, RPA can help move the process faster, further reducing resource overheads. Here are some workflows that can help you recognize revenue faster:
- Seamless claims and denials automation
- Insurance re-verification & pre-billing audits automation
- Faster data collection for all Accounts Receivable
- Automated month-end processes, the closing of books, etc.
5. Data Aggregation
Gaining a 360-degree perspective of operations is a challenge across post-acute care. Advanced analytics and insights drawn by bots allow teams to rapidly make decisions that positively impact care quality and business performance. Here's how RPA can help you do more with your data:
- A unified view into your operations across service lines with quick, detailed report generation
- Data-driven analytics and visualizations updated by the minute
- Receive meaningful insights into critical areas needed to evaluate staff
