MAY - 20228In My OpinionHOW BOT-ASSISTED AUTOMATION CAN HELP PROVIDERS AND PATIENTSIdentify the Benefits of Automation"If only we could clone you." That compliment is often given to the most efficient and effective worker, and especially comes into play when a business has more work to do than their overall resources can accomplish. While cloning isn't an option, some businesses are turning to robotic process automation.Automation promises to streamline repetitive tasks by turning them over to computer algorithms, or "bots". In healthcare, that may look something like the following. Imagine a bot that reaches out to a patient before their upcoming clinic visit and does all the work of verifying contact and insurance information. Additionally, the bot may even ask the patient to describe the reason for their visit. Details about the present illness could be elicited and a list of potential diagnoses could be generated by the algorithm. Then, after the provider visits with the patient and reviews the suggested diagnoses and confirms the appropriate diagnosis, the bot could queue up appropriate treatment plans for the provider to easily select from. The opportunities for automation in healthcare seem endless. After all, bots never get tired or sick like humans do. They will continue doing as they've been programmed to do as long as technical systems are up and running. But what might be the risks of jumping head-first into this new era of bot-assisted delivery of healthcare? What do humans provide that bots cannot? Acknowledge the RisksLEARNINGOne thing we humans have going James HellewellJames Hellewell, Medical Director, Informatics, Intermountain HealthcareBy
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