What is Automation?
Automation is often defined as a process to decrease human intervention to complete any task that might be repetitive and can be done by machines or software. It is often also said that automation means the creation of an automatic system by implementing various technologies.
The important purpose of using automation is to reduce the usage of human labor or, to substitute labor within repetitive or menial jobs. Automation not only reduces human labor, but it also increases the efficiency and accuracy of any task.
Today, automation is used in almost every field imaginable. Some of them are manufacturing, transportation, medicine, defense, etc.
What is Robotic Process Automation?
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is a business process automation that handles repetitive business processes using robot software to perform tasks. It’s a technology that allows the users to configure the software in the system and emulate a robot software. This integrates human interaction with the system to execute the business processes.
COVID-19 Challenges
The COVID crisis has shredded the planet into pieces. It continues to overwhelm the healthcare facilities, deplete our resources, and has also adversely affected the supply chains because of the number of affected patients keeps on increasing when people come in contact with one another.
As a result of this pandemic, the economies are facing grave financial loss across the globe. It looks as if the world has almost come to a halt, and so have the businesses and their revenue generation. The businesses have started cutting costs and are moving towards RPA to complete their processes with the least human intervention.
Why Are Companies Turning Towards Robotic Process Automation?
Currently, due to the COVID-19 crisis, there is plenty of uncertainty and fear worldwide. In these times, humanity, compassion, and ingenuity may be seen at workplaces where employees are coming together as a world community by leveraging RPA technology into their business.
RPA automation not only provides the enterprises with excellent RPA tools to fight this pandemic but is also redefining the new normal in the post-COVID scenarios.
Use Cases of RPA Automation in COVID-19
Denial Management
For Insurance companies, COVID-19 claim codes and submission rules are shifting as CMS and the payer party issues new guidelines pertaining to the passing of claims during this pandemic. This along with the high volume of claims will generate a significant increase in denials. RPA can manage high volumes of denied claims and resubmit them in some cases. Robot software can flag denied claims within the EMR, log in to payer websites to look at the status of claims, pull required information from the payer site or EMR, and in some cases resubmit the claim with nil human interaction.
Billing and Medical Coding
For Medical Coding and Billing, the new ICD-10 HCPCS and CPT codes for COVID-19, telemedicine billing changes combined with the volume of claims will challenge the billing teams. RPA can automate coding extraction, reduce confusion, eliminate data errors, and scale to handle high volumes. Software robots can extract the correct information from multiple sources including the patient record and submit the proper claims with the proper codes. Thus, reducing human errors in billing and coding.
New Vendor Setup
The providers will still onboard new vendors, and in some cases, many should be able to onboard vendors quickly to buy the required supplies. RPA can automate new vendor setup, speeding up and eliminating multiple manual steps. A software robot can intake a brand-new vendor request, pull required information from the request, validate data with third parties, and submit for approval.
Backorder Notification
Obtaining the required supplies is going to be an ongoing challenge for providers at the same time as the initial wave of cases flattens. Timely updates and data about backorder status from suppliers are essential now more than ever. RPA can maintain backorder status, pulling information from multiple systems and disseminating it quickly to buyers.
A software robot can download a backorder file from your procurement system, cross-reference against a buyer file, complete formatting, and analysis and send a novel file to every buyer with their specific information and standing.
Employee Onboarding
Providers have a deep need for clinical staff and volunteers to assist with COVID-19 cases. Rapid onboarding is crucial. RPA fast tracks the employee onboarding processes, eliminating the necessity to input similar information in multiple systems. A software robot can run screening and background check processes, upload application data and notify staff that the worker is prepared to be onboarded. A software robot also can input employee information in multiple systems to complete tasks including generating badges, granting system access, and ordering uniforms, etc.
Final Thoughts
RPA automation has brought tremendous changes in everyone’s life during this pandemic. These changes are here to stay. It is due to these changes that the enterprises have brought in highly innovative solutions that were long due during this period. They are now trying to bring the business back on track, generate revenue, and also help their employees get back to normalcy.
