Robotic process automation (RPA) can help the healthcare industry address current challenges by automating repetitive manual tasks. This allows staff to focus on higher value work while improving efficiency. RPA has the potential to save $350-410 billion annually in the healthcare sector by 2025 by streamlining processes like patient scheduling, claims management, and treatment workflows. As healthcare workers are overburdened during the pandemic, RPA can reduce their workload and risk of exposure by handling administrative tasks digitally. Widespread adoption of RPA in the Indian healthcare system is urgently needed to address staffing shortages and enhance response efforts amid the ongoing crisis.

1. 1
Robotic Process Automation in healthcare-An urgency!
By.Dr.Mahboob Khan
The Healthcare industry is at the forefront in all aspects amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis
and it is of great importance to any country and its citizens. Similarly, care, safety, security
of information & satisfaction of a patient are the key priorities to any healthcare
organization. Hence, the industry needs to stay updated with the latest technologies.
Being a developing nation, India is taking as many efforts as possible to update new
technology in this sector. The healthcare technologies today, include much use of digital
operations, e-services, and the use of AI (artificial intelligence). However, their application
is not to its fullest, and the sector still needs to undergo much evolution. Especially,
considering the current pandemic situation, even efficiency and accuracy have topped
the list of focus areas for healthcare business and to achieve this, having a secure,
scalable, and resilient digital workforce has become the need of the hour.

2. 2
This is where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be of immense help. RPA enables
organizations to work smarter by eliminating repetitive, time consuming manual tasks.
This enables more effective use of human resources by engaging them in high value add
tasks and at the same time boosting up customer satisfaction and interaction levels
Why RPA and how RPA in healthcare can cater to current COVID-19 situation
More and more industries are adopting RPA because RPA exceeds adopters’
expectations not only when it comes to the rapid rate of ROI(Return on Investment)
increase, but also when it comes to facilitating compliance (92%), improved quality and
accuracy (90%), or improved productivity (86%).
As per a study conducted by McKinsey, the healthcare sector had a 36% technical
potential for automation. It also stated robotic process automation as one of the emerging
technologies that will reshape healthcare and create between $350 billion and $410 billion
in annual value by 2025.
In 2020, as the situation across the world rapidly changed from business as usual to
adapting through a pandemic, RPA is already being implemented to accelerate
operations in healthcare, helping organizations and professionals deal with the
overwhelm caused by Covid-19.
Below are few of the difficulties that the healthcare industries are facing in the current
situation:

3. 3
The main reason for these problems is due to the reliance on the manual labor of
employees when it came to paperwork and transferring written records in digital format.
Keeping those digital records manually up-to-date required even more time from
employees, thus sacrificing face-time spent with patients. And this is where RPA comes
into action with great help by handling huge data simultaneously, storing tons of files and
information, keeping a check on the functioning ofa healthcare unit’s back-office and front-
office support, and other similar tasks that seem tedious for ordinary human beings.
Let us consider today’s scenario. Nowadays, when the employees of the healthcare
sector have many tasks at hand, most of them being in physical contact with the corona
patients, their safety is at stake. With the help of automation, though RPA won’t cut off
their threat completely but will reduce it to a large extent for sure.
Approach healthcare industries should take for implementing RPA
Adapting to a change (a new technology) is never too easy. One needs to dive into the
in-depths knowledge of that technology, understand how it works, consider its pros and
cons – there is a list of numerous tasks. However, considering the need of the hour, one
can easily understand that implementation and usage of the RPA in the healthcare sector
are of utmost importance. Hence, the steps necessary for its application must be taken
at once.
Apart from the advantages of technology, one must agree that it is costly and hence,
unaffordable for many. Taking into consideration the necessity of this action and the
financial obstacles that lay in its path, the government should take the initiative to provide
the required funds for the same. At the same time, organizations also must do a proper
cost-benefit analysis and return on investment calculation before implementing RPA for
getting the most benefit out of it. Selecting the right candidate for automation also plays
a major role.
Also, things become easy when we start from the easiest and move towards the most
complicated. The same trick lies with the case of RPA implementation. The sector should
commence with the automation of the most manageable tasks and then proceed to
automate the complicated functions.

4. 4
Common RPA use cases in the healthcare industry
RPA clubbed with AI (Artificial Intelligence)has the power which can bring massive
revolution in the healthcare industry. RPA can be used in almost all sectors of the
healthcare industry – be it hospitals & patient care, medical imaging and diagnostics,
research & development or insurance & claim management.
Few generic use cases where RPA has proved its effectiveness in improving patient
care are –
1.Simplify patient appointment scheduling
2.Speeding up account settlements
3.Streamlining discharge instructions
4.Effective management of claims
5.Improve treatment cycles
Overall, we can see that robotic process automation is the future of the healthcare
industry. No doubt that RPA has been implemented in some parts of the country, but it
must be implemented in every nook and corner. Where our country is dealing with a lack
of healthcare workers already in this pandemic situation, RPA could reduce task time,
improve efficiency, and eliminate errors while improving the patient experience.