By Bobby Carlton
Healthcare professionals are turning to Voice AI technology and automation to give them the tools needed to provide better care for their patients in a digitally connected world.
The rise of voice AI has created a new frontier in healthcare. It is capable of addressing the various challenges that healthcare professionals face, such as the lack of time and resources to address the needs of their patients. With the help of AI, they can now focus on providing the best possible care.
Due to the various challenges that the healthcare industry is facing, it is currently experiencing a shortage of labor and resources. This has affected the quality of care and the healing outcomes of patients.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant factors that has affected the healthcare industry. Because of the high number of infected individuals entering the healthcare system, clinical labor has not been able to keep up with the demand. As a result, medical errors have become the leading cause of death within the United States.
The nursing attrition rate has increased significantly between 2021 and 2022, and with decreasing number of new positions, it is expected that the attrition rate will not return to a level of 4 percent until late 2023 or 2024. According to labor force studies, around 460,000 healthcare professionals left their jobs between February 2020 and the end of November 2021.
Most of the turnover is attributed to the increasing number of mental health issues among healthcare professionals. In a survey conducted on World Mental Health Day, about 74% of healthcare workers stated that they have experienced a significant decline in their mental health due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Further, 41% said they had to seek psychiatric help because of their concerns. The prevalence of mental health issues among healthcare professionals highlights the need for additional resources.
With the increasing demand for new medicines, the cost of healthcare has also increased significantly. According to McKinsey, the pandemic led to a 25% increase in clinical labor costs, as well as a 21% rise in prescription expenses.
The complexity of the clinical documentation and the lack of connectivity between different systems are also contributing factors to the increasing cost of healthcare.
Clinical burnout is not just caused by increasing patient acuity. Administrative burdens, such as the laborious process of clinical documentation, are another common issue faced by healthcare professionals. After the implementation of electronic health records, many clinicians experienced relief. These systems provide them with more support and help them improve their efficiency.
The digitization of the manual process has also shifted the focus of healthcare professionals away from the patient.
As a result, various companies across the healthcare spectrum are looking into ways to reduce the burden on the clinical worker. However, many home health and hospital executives are not able to find the right solution.
Voice AI is considered to be the central component of modern healthcare, as it can help improve the efficiency of the clinical worker and provide a personalized and effective service to the patient. With the ability to automate various tasks, voice can help improve the workflow of healthcare professionals.
Thanks to the increasing number of innovations such as AI, digital twinning, automation, and forward thinking thought leaders in the healthcare industry, the ability to improve the efficiency of the clinical worker has become a central component of modern healthcare. However, despite the technological advancements that have been made, healthcare policy makers still need the help of cross-sector teams to implement the changes.
Through the use of automation and AI, healthcare companies can create workflows that seamlessly transition between various sectors. They can also hire Chief Experience Officers to lead their cross-sector teams. These individuals are tasked with improving the efficiency of the clinical worker and providing direct feedback to the policymakers.
Although EHRs (Electric Health Records) can help improve the efficiency of healthcare professionals, they do not address the underlying causes of clinical burnout and cognitive overload. Instead, they need to be paired with adaptable and sustainable AI solutions to address the various issues that can affect the industry. According to a study conducted by the World Economic Forum, AI decisions can have a significant impact on the customer experience, cost and business processes.
The study noted that the use of AI could help improve the efficiency of the population health management process and reduce the costs of customer care. It can also help prevent medical loss ratios and improve the quality of care by allowing healthcare organizations to implement more effective and personalized treatment plans.
Voice AI can help reduce the burden on the clinician while improving the quality of patient care. A study conducted by McKinsey revealed that over a trillion dollars worth of revenue is still untouched due to the errors that were made by outdated software. Using AI to automate workflows and capture real-time clinical data can help healthcare organizations migrate to a more effective and personalized approach to patient care.
The ability to increase face-to-face interactions with patients could help improve the recovery time of those who are suffering from illness.
According to a survey, over 80% of global workers don’t work at a desk. This is especially true in healthcare settings, where the constant mobility of the staff creates a need for constant compliance and paperwork. This can lead to errors and decreased revenue.
Most of the time, these errors occur in the form of manual data entry and the dissection of up-to-date clinical data. They can also be caused by the lack of familiarity with the multiple work systems used in the healthcare industry.
Voice capabilities can help reduce the human error rate in healthcare settings, which is typically caused by manual data entry and the lack of familiarity with the various process requirements in the industry. They can also help improve the efficiency of frontline workers, such as nurses and doctors.
With the implementation of voice AI technology, healthcare workers can start feeling more valued, effective, and satisfied. This can transform their experience and create a more positive work environment.
Using voice AI can be seamlessly integrated with the multiple back-office systems used in the healthcare industry, such as Epic or Cerner. It can allow healthcare organizations to send and receive information and perform transactions with voice while maintaining data security and compliance.
Voice capabilities can be customized to meet the specific needs of different healthcare settings, such as home healthcare or large hospitals. They can help improve the efficiency of the clinician and provide them with the necessary tools to improve the quality of patient care.
Voice AI can generate up to 30% higher clinician productivity by automating these healthcare use cases:
- Updating records
- Provider duress
- Platform orchestration
- Shift management
- Client data handoff
- Home healthcare
- Maintenance
- Equipment ordering
- Meal preferences
- Case data queries
- Patient schedules
- Symptom logging
- Treatment room setup
- Patient condition education
- Patient support recommendations
- Medication advice
- Incident management
- … and many more
Some benefits of adopting a voice AI solution in healthcare include:
- Burden reduction
- Employee retention
- Compliance
- Data integrity
- Patient outcomes
- Face to face output
With the use of voice AI, healthcare organizations can now simplify the operations of their clinical departments. Using voice-powered automation can help improve the experience of healthcare workers and increase the quality of patient care.
One of the most important factors that healthcare organizations consider when it comes to adopting a voice AI solution is the positive impact it can have on the employee experience. With the ability to create workflow solutions that are designed to improve the efficiency of their operations, workers can feel more empowered and satisfied.
