Using Technology for Home health documentation: The time for automation is now

The recently released 2024 Future Health Index zeroed in on something all healthcare workers have known for some time: staffing shortages are hindering the ability to provide the best possible patient experience. 

The good news is, per the report, it seems healthcare leaders have realized that a solution may be found in the automation of administrative tasks to ease the burden on healthcare staff.

Healthcare leaders agree: Automation can be a solution to staffing shortages – if it’s done right. 92% of those surveyed said they believe automating some of the tasks, as CoLab  Healthcare Solutions does, is “critical for addressing staff shortages in healthcare.” 92% of respondents also said they believe such automation will save healthcare professionals time by reducing administrative burden.

Speaking from my own experience as a healthcare professional, there is nothing healthcare professionals want more than.. time. The amount of “paperwork” they must perform on a daily basis is beyond frustrating. I remember in the Home Health industry how, after completing a 7-8-hour long day visiting  patient’s homes, I would spend another 1-2 hours documenting what I had just done throughout the day. And it wasn’t just me. All colleagues, co workers , friends in the industry spent and are spending several hours every single day typing away at our report . It took away precious time that we could have spent providing care to patients instead or spent with family.

So, it didn’t come as a surprise to me that clinical documentation or note charting is among the top three areas where healthcare leaders plan to implement automation in the next three years. 

I also understand why some healthcare professionals may have doubts about automation, as seen in the Future Health Index report 65% of healthcare leaders say their staff are skeptical of automation. With high expectations often comes the concern that we may put our hope into something that ultimately falls short. Quality assurance in automation is a must and we did just that with the CoLab Note Pro pilot. Our clients who have used our documentation software for more than a year have  validated outcome evidence of its effectiveness. Most importantly, we have always focused on innovating backward from the needs of clinicians, rather than pushing technology for technology’s sake. By innovating on behalf of clinicians to address their most pressing needs, the goal was to avoid inadvertently undermining their professional autonomy.

Conclusion:

Used right, AI & Automation is not about replacing the skills of healthcare providers – it’s about liberating them from tedious work they shouldn’t be doing in the first place.

Take your automation strategy to the next level withCoLab Note Pro 

CoLab Note Pro is here to simplify clinical documentation for home health clinicians with the use of AI and robotic process automation (RPA). We help home health agencies speed up chart completion, reduce denials, improve clinician productivity, and  reduce burnout ; all while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and compliance.

 CoLab Note Pro creates reports tailored for each patient , and the clinician would only need to review and approve. By having such a solution we have made the documentation easy and effortless, while improving the quality of the note per Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) .