A recent Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) survey revealed that the number of hospitals and health systems leveraging automation increased by three times throughout 2020. Still, many experts think the healthcare industry adopts automation slower than other sectors, leaving much room for improvement. Automation has many rewards that make it worth considering for your healthcare practice. Here are some key reasons why you should automate as many tasks in your hospital as possible.
Reduce medical errors
Medical errors are surprisingly the third-leading cause of death in America, with a John Hopkins study estimating that over 250,000 people die yearly due to this. However, automation is famed for error reduction in a wide range of applications and industries, including healthcare. Consequently, consider embracing automation in your healthcare practice to lower the number of medical errors you make and improve your patients’ health outcomes. For instance, automation in medical diagnostics ensures that physicians don’t have to second-guess their recommendations.
Easy transfer and access to data
Automating patient data access and transfer can also help your healthcare practice significantly. Your hospital will be able to add patient data to databases after collecting it, allowing for easy information sharing between internal departments and other facilities. Data sharing is one of the healthcare sector’s biggest challenges, so automation’s facilitation of data sharing is particularly useful. Automation can also help your hospital access the information it needs to handle enrollments very quickly. It is a well-known fact that enrollment is a time-intensive process that can slow down internal processes and take attention from other vital work functions. Fortunately, you can rely on automation software such as healthcare credentialing software to simplify the enrollment process in a few easy steps to save money and time.
Higher patient satisfaction
Many factors affect patient satisfaction in the healthcare system, including the quality of care they receive at the hospital. Therefore, the simplicity of scheduling, check-ins, and finishing appointments are critical to keeping patients satisfied. You can rely on various advanced scheduling solutions that permit patients to schedule their appointments on a computer or smartphone at any time. This form of self-scheduling solution gives patients all the available appointment time slots, so they can select one that is convenient based on the kind of appointment and provider they need to see. Patients can also access their medical records, seek medical advice, and stay in touch with their doctors from the convenience of their homes, thanks to many telemedicine solutions.
Reduce cost
Cost reduction is one of the biggest benefits of adopting automation solutions in hospitals. According to a study by the nonprofit organization CAQH, the American healthcare industry could save as much as 33% of the current spending on healthcare administration annually by switching to fully electronic processes. This cost reduction happens in various ways, depending on the specific solutions you rely on. For instance, automation solutions that allow doctors, nurses, and other staff to focus on patient care instead of administrative tasks will help reduce payouts due to medical errors, improving your hospital’s bottom line.
