Ai-driven System Cuts Fax Processing Time And Speeds New Patient Onboarding In Health Care

An emerging artificial intelligence-powered strategy developed astatine Penn Medicine has tripled nan velocity of fax processing and trim a afloat week disconnected nan caller diligent intake process-freeing up thousands of unit hours. The system, called coordn8, was created by nan Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Transformation and Innovation (CHTI) and is elaborate successful a caller insubstantial published this week successful NEJM Catalyst. 

Though faxing mightiness look for illustration antiquated technology, successful wellness attraction it remains a captious communications instrumentality owed to challenges pinch interoperability and HIPAA privateness requirements. For example, astatine nan University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), betwixt 8,000 and 9,000 faxes are processed each day. Coordn8 automates nan intake and filing of faxed documents into physics wellness records and allows patients to digitally springiness their consent to merchandise records alternatively of mailing forms. 

Reducing processing clip allows unit to attraction connected much patient-facing activities and results successful higher occupation satisfaction. On apical of that, we designed this successful a measurement truthful that squad members tin easy screen for each other. Vacations aliases sick days won't slow nan process down anymore." 

Jency Daniel, DNP, MSN, RN, lead translator strategist astatine CHTI

Employees connected committee pinch efficiency 

During a nine-month aviator play successful 2023, nan CHTI squad surveyed objective unit utilizing coordn8 and recovered that their restitution pinch nan caller diligent intake process jumped from 35 to 60 percent successful conscionable 2 weeks. In addition, a study of coordn8 users recovered nan aforesaid betterment (35 to 60 percent) successful their "effort score," a measurement of really unit felt astir nan effort required to successfully record incoming faxes into nan physics aesculapian record. 

Fax processing clip nether coordn8 improved from an mean of 2 minutes to conscionable astir 40 seconds. So, for each 100,000 faxes processed (a number reached each 11 to 12 days astatine Penn Medicine now), unit could prevention 2,300 hours of clip that could beryllium devoted to different captious tasks. 

Digital consent speeds up grounds gathering 

The clip savings continued successful a coordn8 process for getting patients' consent to stock past wellness information, specified arsenic trial results and scans. 

At nan commencement of each caller diligent intake process, galore wellness attraction organizations require a signed merchandise of accusation form, and this often intends a snail-mailed portion of paper. On average, it took a week to process this astatine UPHS. Digitizing nan consent (now called eDisclosure) reduced some nan steps required from a diligent and nan clip it took to get nan existent shape from UPHS to nan diligent and backmost again. 

By sending nan eDisclosure via matter message-thanks to Penn Medicine's Way to Health platform-the coordn8 squad decreased nan clip it took to get a diligent signature by 85 percent. This allowed unit to get to activity acquiring wellness accusation six days sooner than before, expanding unit restitution from 41 percent to 90 percent. Patients tin still get a insubstantial form, if they choose. 

Expansion 

While nan NEJM Catalyst paper described nan first implementation successful much than 150 fax lines crossed galore different departments crossed UPHS, coordn8 is expanding its fax processing and eDisclosure shape to span outpatient services passim Penn Medicine. 

In conscionable complete a twelvemonth and a half of use, coordn8 has reached an mean of much than 3,000 faxes per time and saved a full of 8,500 unit hours successful total. Such an description is apt charismatic to different wellness systems, some ample and small, looking to free up their staff. But applying it strategically will beryllium important. 

"For different wellness systems looking to use this, it's basal to place nan departments pinch nan highest request and nan highest willingness to participate," said Yevgeniy Gitelman, MD, caput of Custom Software astatine CHTI and subordinate main aesculapian accusation serviceman astatine Penn Medicine. "If others successful a wellness strategy tin spot their colleagues thriving, it will summation buy-in and thief to amended grow a work for illustration this, expanding its impact."