There was an overwhelmingly consistent message from healthcare providers at the recent innovation conference PegaWorld iNspire – the need for better handling of information to reduce paperwork.
While this may come as no surprise, it was interesting to hear about some of the different challenges organizations are facing and the technologies being considered to solve them.
I was excited to attend this luminary event in Las Vegas and speak face-to-face with leaders in the healthcare field. The convention was hosted by Pegasystems, a provider of a robust AI-powered low-code platform to automate business workflows.
The theme focused on demystifying AI to adapt to the changing tech landscape and featured presentations from some of the world’s leading companies, including Highmark Health subsidiary enGen which uses the Pega platform to leverage its member engagement hub (MEHub). With the company processing 225 million claims a year, it was truly remarkable to see the AI technology behind MeHub that enables members to move effortlessly between mobile devices, the web, virtual assistants, clinicians, and customer support.
Although AI was the big theme in presentations, attendees were extremely focused on wanting concrete solutions and outcomes. Attendees I talked to spoke of the need for faster, lower cost, straight-through processing of documents and forms and better data insights and manageability. More importantly, healthcare leaders want to know the impact of digitizing these processes, not only in terms of improved patient experience but with regard to revenue and payments.
In that respect, it was interesting to hear of the benefits achieved by Apria Healthcare from undergoing the digitization of its paper forms. Lindsey Moon, Director of System Support Services, shared how they set out with a goal of automating 60% of orders, gaining a 40% cost reduction in paper, improving inventory control, reducing errors, and providing a better patient experience – all of which was achieved with the expected ROI. One of Apria’s priorities for the project was an easy installation, which is why they chose Pega’s low code, off-the-shelf solution to integrate into their existing system. The success of the project has led the company to invest in further enhancing the new mobile solution to take payment at the point of delivery from October 2023.
Indeed, in an industry that is forever changing and still extremely paper-heavy, I wasn’t surprised to hear from some healthcare delegates who had already undergone automation and were now hitting a roadblock with a system that is not scalable to cope with growth and change.
This draws on the importance of low-code, out-of-the-box technologies such as those implemented by Apria. New sophisticated technology like Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), provides the freedom to make changes at any time – from switching document types to increasing volume from hundreds to tens of thousands.
Another topic causing a lot of buzz at the conference was the desire to automate patient onboarding. It’s easy to see why this is a priority when you consider the cumbersome process for patients to remember and provide personal information, pertinent health history, and health insurance documentation whether at an emergency room or as a new member of a healthcare organization. Patients expect the convenience of digital healthcare, but healthcare providers and payers must balance service expectations with the need to protect patient’s privacy, reduce the risk of fraud, and maintain compliance.
While patients understand the need for good security, they don’t want to have to stress about remembering and carrying all required health and insurance-related information. This is why a good onboarding strategy should encompass an all-in-one solution and provide the ability to complete intake forms both on mobile devices and desktops. Streamlining and modifying the onboarding process through the use of technology can dramatically improve overall patient experience and trust with a healthcare provider and insurer.
After attending the conference and hearing first-hand the challenges healthcare companies are facing, it’s clear that leaders are eager to streamline complicated and manual processes and make better use of their vast amounts of information.
With EHR and other technology investments, healthcare teams have more data than ever before. Inundated with dashboards and reports, providers are too often forced to make crucial operational decisions without the insight they need. Addressing these challenges with technology like artificial intelligence and IDP is the key to improving the patient journey – and, of course, the bottom line.
About Bruce Orcutt
Bruce Orcutt is Senior Vice President at intelligent automation company ABBYY and has more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software. He’s played a pivotal role in envisioning and launching innovative solutions that have transformed the way people work, improved customer engagement, increased revenue, and enhanced competitive advantage for ABBYY customers.
