Healthcare is a term used to describe the efforts made to help an individuals mental, physical and emotional well being as best as it possibly can be. In today’s society, healthcare is a major part of our life and many often are in need of it daily. In the UK, the most major healthcare service is the NHS, an organisation striving to offer free, incredibly supportive healthcare to those that need it, to the best of their ability. This very organisation is now being deeply overwhelmed and potentially unable to cope due to the coronavirus pandemic- Staff are being overworked, beds are needed faster than they can be emptied, and more and more patients are in desperate need for help. There is simply no time to tend to other patients unfortunately.
RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is a technology that allows the deployment, testing and management of software robots that can emulate human actions via interacting with data and algorithms.
- RPA is mainly implemented to enhance the already existing workforce, and can imitate human actions- this means that RPA is used to support the humans already working there by lending a ‘helping hand’, so to speak.
- RPA requires structured data (highly specific data in a specific format) and is programmed by a human- this means that RPA requires training and is highly rule based.
- RPA is almost always used in repetitive, automotive and cumbersome tasks, and as it is a robot, it is more precise and much faster than humans at such jobs. RPA is also not as costly or effective as AI, but still generates significant value and usage in the business.
So how can RPA be used in healthcare?
One of the many ways that RPA can help healthcare providers is by managing data migration, extraction and entry. Healthcare is a very data heavy industry, and requires patient data to be transferred from place to place. Having an RPA to carry out these tasks, as well as others such as digitisation of paper documents, will genuinely help free up time and energy of workers, allowing them to at least take a breather or use that time to maybe progress on more pressing matters. Furthermore, the use of RPA to handle patient/hospital data further increases data confidentiality, therefore easing privacy worries of both parties.
Another way RPA can help is by enhancing patient experience. Having an RPA to automate booking appointments and reminding patients of their upcoming appointments can lead to less appointments being missed. This allows for better productivity and efficiency of the hospitals. It can also improve patient experience by streamlining office support so that patient queries can be managed much quicker, therefore offering a higher quality of customer service.
It frees up time of the workers which will ultimately lead to higher efficiency and employee satisfaction. Having RPA to automate tedious, time-consuming tasks rather than having the workers do it will free up a lot more time for the staff, making them less overwhelmed and giving them time to recollect themselves before continuing their shift. This will allow them to work in a better state of mind which will make way for increased efficiency, patient satisfaction and hospital reputation.
However, despite the many advantages provided by RPA, there are also some potential disadvantages to discuss about-
One of which being that RPA is expensive to build, train and maintain. As you’d have to build an RPA to do select/specific tasks, it would have to be built from the ground up, which will obviously be very expensive. There ae also other costs to be wary about, such as maintenance of the RPA which requires skilled, expensive staff and training- both for staff and the RPA in order for it to be successful implemented within the institution. There is a possibility that that money could have been use elsewhere such as for newer machinery or beds or staff, which in a hospital, are very vital.
Another unfortunate disadvantage can be is that healthcare is a dynamically changing industry- it can and will change as the current situation changes either for better or for worse and expectedly or unexpectedly (a good example of this can be the continuing aftermath of the unexpected covid-19 pandemic on our healthcare providers). What this means for RPA is that there may soon be a time where the situation becomes something that RPA cannot handle. As RPA is very rule based, it can act on only specific scenarios such as being told to file this, there. A sudden, dynamic change may leave these scenarios to be different than what it once was, meaning that RPA cannot do anything at this point. It will essentially be useless.
Despite these drawbacks, there is no denying that RPA is an investment into getting much better processes, satisfaction, efficiency and most importantly, better care being provided. Even if it is for an undetermined amount of time, it still is an incredibly useful tool to help manage the growing populations problems with their health.
