Automation in Hospitals: The More the Merrier?

By Sharjeel Yunus

Automation and machine processes have been a part of the hospital infrastructure for a while. But where some individuals view them as “job killers”, others view it as freedom from tedious, mundane work. So is there a tussle between machines and humans?

“There’s a lot of automation that can happen that isn’t a replacement of humans, but of mind-numbing behavior,” says Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr and CEO of Slack. And with the advent of modern technology, AI, and automation in hospitals, this sentiment resonates strongly among current hospital administrators and medical directors.

The main purpose of bringing automation into hospitals is not to reduce doctors, staff, or consultants; but to reduce any wastage in their services. In fact, intelligent automation has played a key role in re-imagining hospitals by bringing about a streamlined approach and reducing the amount of time hospital staff spend on clerical duties.

Why Bring in More Machines & Automation?

U. K. Ananthapadmanabhan, CEO & Director, Tenxhealth Technologies says, “Whenever I used to go on rounds I found a lot of loose ends here and there, all of which used to happen due to manual intervention. By using technology and automation we ensure there is no room for errors, manipulation, or fraud claims. This is beneficial for insurers, patients, and staff”

Studies conducted by the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany have confirmed that technology offers more accurate diagnoses quickly. This is especially important in cases where time is of the essence and early intervention can make all the difference. Speaking of time, appointment scheduling software ensures the waiting time for patients is minimal while also giving patients the freedom to schedule appointments at their own convenience.

Automation in healthcare is also boosting the bottom line by unlocking new economic opportunities. Simple things like faster data gathering and analysis, improved relationship tools, better billing tools, and adaptive staffing are going a long way in helping healthcare facilities shape their finances and business models.

Where is Digitalisation Making an Impact?

According to Dr. Sanjeev K Singh, Medical Director, Amrita Hospitals, “Almost every department has a few areas where machines can come in and ease the human load. It's not only about easing load but getting more accurate, data-led results. Radiology, biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology, laboratory medicine, and nuclear medicine are hugely benefited with more machines.”

Robotic process automation (RPA) in healthcare is greatly reducing stress and physical frustration of hospital staff but taking up cumbersome tasks like managing inventory, entering repetitive data, digitzing patient files, scheduling appointment, billing patients, processing claims, and keeping the conversation ongoing between patients and carers.It also always to eliminate unnecessary internal silos, ensure patients have a transparent single-point access to their records and strip costs away from its supply chain by implementing real-time reporting and better analytics.

Another important space is telehealth and digital pathology. With machines now capable of providing images and scans to doctors remotely, pathologists don’t need to be in every nook and corner. Even when it comes to emergency room procedures, the right algorithm can go a long way in reducing the disasters that may occur in these high pressure situations.

The Limitations of Digitalisation and Automation

“In India and other low-income countries, the cost is a deciding factor. Everybody wants new information and technology, but if the cost is a deterrent, then the adoption becomes poor. If it’s a reasonable cost then I think technology will be adopted more widely. But of course, this depends on the machine, the volumes, and other working factors that change from hospital to hospital.” says Dr. Sanjeev.

Although cost is among the prime reasons why digitalisation and its adoption is hampered, not enough case-by-case studies are undertaken by individual hospitals owing to the time and skill constraints. Another factor here is the shortage of effective B2B communications and sales. All this usually results in inadequate cost-benefit analysis.

One must also consider the skills training of the digital workforce to address healthcare needs. This, depending on the automation solution, can cost a lost of money which is another setback for adoption. Not every automation happens at the click of a button, and some require much more digital competency and network connectivity than the rest. Without these systems in place, it’s no wonder that digital adoption in India for healthcare is quite low.

To this U. K. Ananthapadmanabhan adds, “The irony in this country is that we’ve many hospitals across different scale spectrums, but less than 10% have HIS and less than 2% have EMR. Without these basic things in place, it’s hard to bring in digitalization on multiple fronts.”

Machines v/s Humans or Machines & Humans?

It’s no surprise that movies like Terminator and iRobot have shaped our thoughts into believing machines and humans don’t necessarily belong together. But in the real world, this is far from the truth. To begin with machines don’t have consciousness and more importantly, machines cannot replace human beings primarily because machines cannot be simple in terms of communication. It will always take a specialist to understand the kind of data a machine is giving out, and most patients are not medical specialists.

Humans are also capable of sympathy, empathy, and compassion. They also have intuition and better interpersonal relationship skills; not something machines can boast about. But arguably the most important attribute is communication. Human beings have the ability to communicate in a way that is easy to understand. Usually, patients have tens of questions that machines cannot answer to patients of different comprehension levels. What’s more, machines can perform tasks they’re specifically programmed to do whereas humans are much more flexible and crafty when it comes to creating links and associations across different pieces of technology.

What Will the Hospitals of the Future Look Like?

In simple words: more machines, more automation, better skilled staff, and happier patients. Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan says, “Industry 4.0 and COVID-19 has made promoters, VCs, and other stakeholders adopt automation and technology at a much more rapid rate.” And once the technology is adopted, its near impossible to going back to the old way.

On this topic, Dr. Sanjeev adds, “At least 40-50% of a hospital can be automated and this process is already in the works. Be it clinical, emergency, non-clinical, chronic health management, administration, or housekeeping activities there are technologies coming in which make the process organized using machines and technology. But these technologies and machines need to be used well and in tandem with human beings so that their impact and benefit can be seen.”

So its safe to say that hospitals will definitely be more buttons and beeps going forward, but it’s also going to require a fair amount of humans to press these buttons and understand the beeps. Looking at it from a pure business point, hospitals require patients and better technology and automation helps patients feel more secure and connected with their carers and by extension the healthcare facility.