A clear guide for today’s healthcare leaders.
In healthcare, scaling operations means tackling thousands of manual, repetitive, and time-sensitive tasks — from claims submissions and prior auths to clinical coding and chart abstraction. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software “bots” to handle this work automatically, so your teams can focus on delivering care.
Imagine if intake forms, lab results, or care gap follow-ups didn’t require manual clicks or double entry. RPA bots can log in, navigate systems, extract and update data — just like a human would, but faster, 24/7, and without errors. The result: more time for clinicians, lower administrative costs, and greater consistency in compliance and documentation
RPA bots are digital assistants that work just like staff — logging in, copying, pasting, updating records, and even routing data across systems. In a healthcare setting, this might mean extracting lab values, posting charges, or populating HEDIS measures automatically. Once trained, bots follow the exact same process every time — no skipped steps, no fatigue, no variation
The robotic aspect of RPA refers to the creation of software “robots” or bots that mimic tasks similar to the ones outlined above. Once created they will monitor Jane’s digital actions and learn in the process. Once Jane shows them her workflow the robots take over and she gets a well-deserved cup of coffee.
Before automating, it's crucial to understand the actual workflow. For example, closing a patient encounter might involve dozens of actions across the EMR, billing platform, and quality system. RPA helps standardize these processes by working directly with your staff to map out every step and exception — especially in multi-market or multi-specialty organizations
Once your workflows are mapped, bots can be deployed to run them with precision. Whether it’s reconciling patient balances, updating registries, or processing referrals, RPA ensures the task is completed exactly as intended, every time. Bots can work around the clock and scale instantly to meet surges in volume — with no need for retraining
While this is where all the benefits of RPA are realized it relies heavily on the first two (robotic and process) being accurate. As the old saying goes, garbage in – garbage out. Automating a process that is inefficient or missing input from users often results in higher costs, overhead, and a significant amount of rework. Planning and preparation are key to ensuring success when automating any process.
While we have outlined a specific scenario, the above software bots have the ability to interact with any application or system in the same way users perform their daily tasks. The benefit here is that once a process is automated your bots work 24/7 without the need for breaks and the human element of error is removed.
Absolutely. With modern low-code tools, RPA implementation is faster and more affordable than ever. At Odesso, we’ve deployed automation across national provider networks and risk-bearing entities to reduce overhead, improve accuracy, and expand capacity — all within a HIPAA-compliant framework.
Automation isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about real, measurable savings. In healthcare, where margins are tight and administrative complexity is high, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) consistently delivers compelling ROI.
According to industry research, RPA can reduce operational costs by up to 30–60%, particularly for repetitive, rule-based tasks like data entry, claims submission, and coding. A 2023 Deloitte study found that healthcare organizations using RPA saw a 3x return on investment within the first year, thanks to fewer errors, faster throughput, and redeployed staff capacity.
In fact, up to 40% of a healthcare worker’s time is spent on digital tasks that can be automated. By offloading this work to bots, provider networks can redirect clinical and administrative staff to higher-value activities — such as patient engagement, quality improvement, and revenue strategy.
Beyond labor savings, RPA also enhances audit readiness, reduces denied claims, and improves compliance — all of which translate into higher revenue and lower risk. When implemented at scale, automation becomes not just a cost reducer, but a strategic growth enabler.
Scale Without Hiring
Automate tasks like eligibility checks, scheduling, and coding to scale operations without adding headcount.
Increase Speed & Capacity
Free staff from low-value work and let automation handle high-volume tasks instantly, especially during peak periods.
Reduce Errors, Improve Audit Readiness
Bots never skip steps or mistype data — helping your organization meet compliance and audit standards more easily.
Boost Morale
Clinicians and admins alike prefer working on meaningful, strategic efforts — not clicking boxes.
Adapt Quickly
As payer rules or internal systems change, bots can be retrained far faster than people can be hired or re-onboarded
An automated process can have a tremendous impact on an organization’s bottom line. At first glance (above) it may seem we are simply putting Jane out of a job but let us take a closer look. The success of our company above depends on delivering widgets, not the manual input of orders from one system to another. This frees up Jane to focus things that really make a difference. Many studies show that an average employee spends up to 40% of their time on digital tasks that require manual intervention. In any regulated industry such as healthcare and manufacturing this average can be much higher. The critical importance of error free execution as it relates to compliance and auditability in areas such as patient care result in much better outcomes. In addition to the above the following are also experienced:
Accuracy and speed of every automated task. Without the human element common mistakes are avoided and an identical process is followed every time. In addition when employee turnover occurs there is no downtime due to retraining.
Employee morale is improved when meaningless work is automated. No one wants to feel like a cog in the corporate machine. Automating digital tasks allows our employees to focus on the things that are important and makes a fundamental difference to their day-to-day work experience.
While it is dreaded by many, compliance is a reality in any regulated industry. The good news is that compliance tasks no longer need to be onerous or time consuming. Since bots are able to interact with any application (Internal or External) auditing and reporting tasks can be performed during off hours to minimize impact on systems during peak hours.
Scalability is another clear benefit that comes along with RPA implementations. While it may be feasible to have Jane perform the tasks outlined above when 10-50 orders per day are received, how well does that scale to 10,000? The flexibility of RPA allows for scaling up or down of any process based on workload. In addition, new or existing bots can quickly be programmed or redeployed as systems and applications are updated.
With the rise of social media customer experience has quickly risen to the top of nearly every consumer driven industry. Rapid praise or backlash from customers online can lead to a meteoric rise or dramatic tumble from which many organizations never recover. Automating tasks ensures no delays in fulfillment are experienced due to employee absences, shortages, or vacations. In addition, improved customer experience creates a positive feedback loop for the organization resulting in higher morale.
We’ve helped some of the largest value-based care organizations automate everything from HCC coding to authorization workflows. If you’re looking to scale, standardize, and succeed in complex environments — there’s no better partner than Odesso.
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