Top Healthcare Workflow Inefficiences (+How to Fix Them)

One of the most amazing and impactful aspects of healthcare services is how they’re individualized for the unique needs of every patient. However, while treatment plans are unique, there are standardized practices and procedures that help improve not only outcomes but efficiencies within those care plans.

Administrative tasks are designed to support care–but often don’t need to be as individualized. This means there are plenty of opportunities to improve those tasks and processes, thereby improving the efficiency of healthcare staff and practices while also enhancing patient experiences and outcomes. And yet, many providers are missing out on healthcare workflow improvements.

Quick Links:

• What is Healthcare Workflow?
• Why Does Healthcare Workflow Matter?
• Top Healthcare Workflow Inefficiencies and How to Fix Them

What is Healthcare Workflow?

Healthcare workflow refers to tasks and processes carried out by healthcare professionals and systems to deliver the dental or medical services required for patient care. This encompasses everything from appointment scheduling and insurance verification to patient check-ins, consultations, diagnostics, treatment plans, and follow-up care.

From the time a patient calls your practice or schedules online, every touchpoint they have with your office, and every service your practice provides is part of the healthcare workflow.

Why Does Healthcare Workflow Matter?

Healthcare workflows are designed to ensure that each step in the patient care process is executed efficiently, accurately, and in a timely manner. In addition, these steps may involve various stakeholders such as doctors/dentists, nurses/hygienists, administrative staff, and IT systems. Effective workflows integrate multiple activities, ensuring seamless transitions not only between these individuals but also different stages of patient care.

To truly deliver exceptional patient care and quality healthcare services, healthcare workflows should be seen as an essential part of any healthcare practice. Inefficiencies in these workflows, such as redundant tasks, bottlenecks, or miscommunication, can lead to delays, increased costs, and potential harm to patients. However, optimized healthcare workflows help reduce errors, streamline communication, and ensure that healthcare professionals can focus more on patient care rather than administrative burdens.

Top Healthcare Workflow Inefficiencies and How to Fix Them

If a goal for your practice is increasing revenue, then improving patient experience through optimized workflows can help. Not only can improved processes facilitate the patient journey, but they can help your administrative staff be more efficient and maximize your providers and their services.

However, healthcare organizations often face workflow inefficiencies that impact patient care, staff satisfaction, and operational costs. Identifying and addressing these inefficiencies is crucial for creating a more effective and efficient healthcare system.

1. Inefficient Patient Scheduling

Problem- Double-booking, last-minute cancellations, and long wait times can disrupt the flow of patient care. Whether it’s gaps in your schedule and underutilized providers or frustrated patients, scheduling issues can cost money and goodwill.

Solution- Automated insurance verification software can keep your administrative team abreast of what treatments are covered, allowing you to schedule those out before patients leave the office. Similarly, healthcare practices can implement analytical software that uses predictive analytics to optimize appointment slots and minimize gaps.

And, when it comes to patients, automated reminders (via SMS, email, or phone) can help reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations. Similarly, online scheduling options for patients can increase convenience and reduce administrative workload.

2. Paper-based Processes

Problem- Reliance on paper records leads to time-consuming data entry and difficulty accessing patient information. And when it comes to prescriptions, paper prescriptions often delay patient care. And there’s the age-old problem of poor penmanship resulting in far more dire consequences.

Solution- Practices should make the transition to Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems to streamline data entry, storage, and retrieval. Similarly, they should implement ePrescribing to reduce the need for paper prescriptions and enhance communication with pharmacies.

3. Poor Communication Between Departments

Problem- Lack of communication and coordination between departments can lead to errors, delays, and duplicated efforts.

Solution- Consider utilizing integrated communication platforms that allow real-time messaging and data sharing between departments. Practices should regularly conduct meetings to discuss patient care plans and address any communication gaps.

4. Redundant or Time-Consuming Administrative Tasks

Problem- Repetitive administrative tasks, such as data entry, billing, medical and dental coding, and reporting, consume significant staff time and resources.

Solution- From straight-up automation of routine administrative tasks with workflow automation software to the integration of tools and resources into existing software (such as ePrescribing software with a built-in Lexicomp® drug directory), there are ways to alleviate the burden of previously time-consuming tasks.

Similarly, templates and pre-filled or auto-fill forms can reduce the time required for documentation. And, if more help is needed, practices can easily outsource administrative functions like billing, insurance verification and transcription to specialized service providers.

5. Inadequate Training and Education

Problem- Staff who are not adequately trained may struggle with new technology and procedures. You also run significant risks to your practice when staff are not up to date on security. As a result, even more resources will be needed to address errors or compounding inefficiencies.

Solution- Identify the areas (and staff) most in need of comprehensive training. This may include a HIPAA risk assessment to help you identify security knowledge gaps which may be among the riskiest. Providing training programs and resources for new hires and ongoing education for existing staff can help alleviate a considerable amount of these concerns.

Working with a healthcare solutions platform provider who delivers exceptional service and support at the level you need can enhance training and learning for your entire organization.

6. Poor Patient Flow Management

Problem- Bottlenecks in patient administrative flow can result in long wait times, overcrowding, poor provider utilization, and suboptimal patient care.

Solution- Leverage analytics software to identify service and provider gaps and workflow bottlenecks. Automate administrative tasks like insurance verification to reduce wait times and schedule in advance to maximize utilization.

Cloud software can help providers complete work on the fly and physical spaces can and should be designed to facilitate movement of patients and providers.

7. Lack of Standardized Procedures

Problem- Inconsistent procedures across different departments, or even individual staff, can lead to variability in care and operational inefficiencies.

Solution- Develop and enforce standardized protocols and best practices for common procedures and workflows. Regularly review and update those protocols to ensure they reflect current best practices and regulatory requirements.

8. Suboptimal Use of Data

Problem- With the digitization of healthcare practices, we’re collecting more data than ever before. However, many practices are failing to effectively analyze and use data for strategic decision-making. As a result, there are missed opportunities for revenue improvement.

Solution- Invest in practice and revenue analytics tools to harness the power of data for operational and clinical decision-making. The right tool can help you maximize patient scheduling, insurance benefits, and manage revenue cycle elements that help improve cash flow.

Every practice has unique issues, but we regularly see the same, or similar, workflow inefficiencies across healthcare practices. Addressing these common issues allows healthcare organizations to improve patient outcomes and experience, enhance staff productivity, and reduce operational costs, ultimately leading to a more efficient and effective healthcare system.

That's iCoreConnect's mission with iCoreEnterprise, a platform designed to directly address healthcare workflow inefficiencies and streamline your practice to deliver exceptional care, alleviate administrative burdens, and improve both cash flow and profitability. 

Electronic health records were just the first step in the widespread digitization of healthcare. This paved the way for streamlining additional services and administrative support. If you’re ready to take your existing practice management software to new heights, reach out or book a demo today.