Unlocking Productivity in Healthcare: How Intelligent Automation is the Key

Intelligent automation is positioned as a key lever to unlock productivity in healthcare by offloading repetitive administrative work, streamlining claims processing, accelerating documentation through speech-to-text, and digitizing handwritten records with advanced text extraction. By combining AI, ML and automation in end-to-end solutions such as chatbots, real-time eligibility checks, EHR transcription and handwriting recognition, FPT helps providers reduce manual effort, improve accuracy and free clinicians for higher-value patient care. However, realizing full value from these capabilities requires deliberate investment in training, organizational redesign and budgeting so healthcare organizations can turn automation into sustainable business and clinical impact.

Written by

Minh Tran

Published on

September 13, 2024

intelligent-automation-in-healthcare-blog-thumbnail

Manual administrative tasks have long been a major challenge for the healthcare industry, consuming valuable time and resources that could otherwise be dedicated to patient care. On average, 40% of healthcare workers spend at least a quarter of their work week on repetitive activities.

In response to this ongoing burden, intelligent automation (IA) — an innovative combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies — is emerging as a promising solution for a wide range of healthcare operations. IA can support organizations by:

Freeing up manual administrative tasks
Automating medical claim processing
Transcribing and extracting medical text

As healthcare companies advance on their digital transformation journey, FPT Software can help them boost operational efficiency and reduce reliance on manual effort.

Free Up Effort for Administrative Tasks

Administrative tasks are critical to the smooth operation of healthcare organizations, yet they are often repetitive and time-consuming. Intelligent automation (IA), powered by AI-driven software and machine learning (ML), offers a way to streamline these processes. For instance, IA can optimize patient scheduling by automating the entire workflow, from booking appointments to sending reminders. This automation helps reduce missed appointments and improves overall operational efficiency. Deloitte estimates that automation can save schedulers between 38% and 47% of their time, which translates to approximately 700 to 870 hours annually.

AI-powered chatbots, enhanced with advanced machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), can further reduce the administrative burden. Available 24/7, these chatbots can automate responses to common health queries, manage appointment scheduling, and send medication reminders. By streamlining communication between patients and healthcare providers, they lessen routine workload for staff and improve patient engagement. As chatbots handle repetitive questions and tasks, healthcare professionals can devote more time to critical care and more meaningful patient interactions, illustrating how intelligent automation can substantially improve healthcare operations.

Automating Medical Claims Processing

Challenges of Manual Medical Claim Processing

In many healthcare organizations, tasks such as verifying patient eligibility, submitting medical claims, and following up with insurers are still handled manually. These activities are labor-intensive and highly prone to human error, leading to delays that slow down the revenue cycle and significantly increase the workload for healthcare staff.

According to KFF, 17% of claims were denied even when patients used in-network physicians, and some insurers experienced denial rates of up to 80% due to manual claim handling. The involvement of multiple stakeholders, each with distinct requirements and regulations, further amplifies issues such as incorrect data entry, incomplete documentation, and mishandling of claim-related records.

How Intelligent Automation Transforms Claims Processing

Intelligent automation can fundamentally reshape these processes by applying advanced technologies to improve speed, accuracy, and consistency. Automated systems can instantly verify patient eligibility by accessing insurers' databases, retrieve up-to-date coverage information, and accurately complete claims forms based on available patient and provider data.

Real-time tracking capabilities keep healthcare workers informed about required actions, while automated workflows follow up with insurers to obtain timely updates on pending medical claims. In addition, intelligent automation can predict denial risks by analyzing historical denial and appeal data, enabling healthcare providers to resolve potential issues before submission and reduce the overall rate of medical claims denials.

Text Transcription for Clinical Documentation

Intelligent automation can automatically transcribe patient–doctor conversations, converting spoken dialogue into written text. This enables a faster and more accurate documentation process and minimizes the need for physicians to perform manual corrections.

A concrete example of this capability is FPT Software's partnership with a leading Southeast Asian distributor of hospital medical systems. To enhance patient-centric care, the client deployed FPT Software's advanced Speech-to-Text model, AIScribe. The solution automates the transcription of patient–doctor interactions, then summarizes the content and updates electronic health records (EHRs) in real time. AIScribe also streamlines EHR data entry and system uploads, helping reduce manual workloads for healthcare professionals. In addition, it integrates with AI-powered assistants and clinical decision support systems (CDSS) to provide immediate access to patient information, evidence-based recommendations, and optimized workflows based on the data captured in EHRs.

As a result, the client achieved a 50% reduction in healthcare documentation time, saving approximately seven minutes per patient encounter. The automation tool has significantly improved healthcare worker productivity, alleviating burnout and fatigue by 70%. Documentation accuracy has also improved, with 75% of physicians reporting higher quality in their clinical records.

Discover how FPT Software empowered patient care and boosted productivity for healthcare workers with AI Solution.

Text Extraction

Managing large volumes of documents is a daily challenge in healthcare. While extracting data from typed documents has become relatively straightforward with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), recognizing handwriting remains a significant hurdle. Variations in handwriting styles, inconsistent alignment, messy writing, and poor document quality make this task even more complex. In this context, FPT.AI Read represents a major step forward in document digitization with advanced handwriting recognition capabilities, offering healthcare professionals the following key features:

Advanced handwriting recognition: Although handwriting recognition is inherently complex, FPT.AI Read leverages machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision technologies to accurately interpret handwritten text, including both numbers and letters, with an accuracy rate of up to 85%.
Effective data extraction: For printed documents, FPT.AI Read can handle around 80% of data extraction and data entry tasks with an accuracy rate of 95% or higher.
Accuracy verification: The system includes a robust verification model that detects anomalies such as missing letters or incorrect dates. It cross-checks information across multiple documents or CRM systems to ensure data integrity.
Error detection and alerts: FPT.AI Read provides a warning system that highlights fields with lower confidence scores, helping users quickly review and correct potential errors.

Empowering the Future of Healthcare with FPT

Automation, AI, and robotics are now central to the agenda of modern CIOs, yet turning these technologies into tangible business value remains challenging. According to Forrester, while only around 20% of CIOs see "increasing top-line revenue" as a primary goal for automation, achieving real value requires going beyond cost reduction.

To fully unlock the potential of automation and AI, organizations must invest in employee training, organizational restructuring, and disciplined budgeting. By prioritizing these areas, healthcare companies can adopt automation and AI more effectively and drive meaningful, sustainable improvements across their operations.

As healthcare organizations move forward on their digital transformation journey, FPT can support you in boosting efficiency through the combined power of AI and automation. See how FPT is shaping the future of better healthcare here: https://fptsoftware.com/industries/healthcare

Frequently Asked Questions

How can intelligent automation fix manual admin burdens in healthcare?

Intelligent automation combines AI and automation to take over repetitive, rules-based work across scheduling, documentation, and claims. It cuts manual effort, reduces errors, and speeds processes so staff can focus on patient care. FPT Software provides platforms, solutions, and expertise to embed IA into your broader digital transformation.

How can IA reduce time spent on scheduling and admin tasks?

IA tools automate end-to-end scheduling—from booking to reminders—cutting scheduler time by up to nearly 870 hours a year. AI chatbots handle common questions, appointment changes, and reminders 24/7, easing call volumes and freeing clinicians and staff to focus on higher-value interactions and patient care.

How does automating claims processing improve our revenue cycle?

Automated claims processing validates eligibility in real time, prepopulates and checks claim data, and tracks status with automatic follow-ups. It cuts manual data entry, reduces errors that trigger denials, and shortens turnaround times, lightening staff workload and accelerating cash flow across the revenue cycle.

How can AI transcription tools cut documentation time for clinicians?

AI transcription tools capture patient-doctor conversations and turn them into structured notes, then update EHRs in real time. Solutions like AIScribe have halved documentation time per visit and improved record quality, significantly reducing clinician fatigue while integrating with assistants and decision support systems.

How can IA handle handwriting and text extraction in our records?

IA solutions like FPT.AI Read use OCR, computer vision, and deep learning to extract data from both typed and handwritten healthcare documents. They reach high accuracy, flag low-confidence fields, and cross-check data, reducing manual data entry, improving data quality, and speeding digitization of legacy records.

How can FPT Software help us build future-ready automated healthcare?

FPT Software partners with healthcare organizations to deploy automation, AI, and robotics in ways that improve revenue, quality, and experience—not just cost. They support strategy, technology, and change management, including workforce training and redesign, to embed automation as a core driver of digital health.