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Robots could free up a million NHS days by doing tedious administrative tasks, Health Service suggests
- Robotic process automation was able to handle administration ten times faster than humans
Robots and AI could save a million NHS working days a year and free up staff to focus on care, says a health service blueprint.
Technological improvements could mean frontline workers no longer have to waste so much time on administrative tasks, ministers say.
The blueprint claims that robotic process automation could complete back-office tasks up to 10 times faster than humans, saving 30 percent in costs and with fewer errors.
It is one of the reforms in the NHS staffing plan, which the government hopes will save taxpayers £10bn.
The 15-year scheme includes radical measures to close a shortfall of up to 360,000 NHS staff by creating an army of junior and apprentice roles and speeding up clinical training.
Robots and AI could save a million NHS working days a year and free up staff to focus on care, says a health service blueprint. Pictured: Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who has reportedly pushed for the health service to leverage technological advances to maximize productivity and accelerate patient care
The blueprint claims that robotic process automation could complete back-office tasks up to 10 times faster than humans, saving 30 percent in costs and with fewer errors. It would be done using AI software like ChatGPT to transcribe doctor’s notes
It reads: “If all trusts were to implement processes that are ‘time-validated’, this could save more than 7.2 million hours annually, equivalent to more than 965,000 freed working days.
“Over the next ten years, this could equate to nearly 22 million hours saved, equivalent to more than 2.9 million workdays freed up.”
The plan – which comes before the NHS’s 75th anniversary on Wednesday – promises to find ways to leverage technology, with increased use of artificial intelligence and robotics in diagnostics and administration.
It means that in the future, patients will be able to meet with “robotic receptionists” to schedule appointments and surgeries, in addition to using AI software like ChatGPT to transcribe doctor’s notes.
It is one of the reforms in the NHS staffing plan, which the government hopes will save taxpayers £10bn
MPs from the Commons Health and Social Care Committee have warned that technology in the NHS is so outdated it could take doctors 15 minutes to log into their work computers.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is said to have urged the health service to leverage technological advances to maximize productivity and speed up patient care.
The report is expected to outline how software bots can be used to perform patient bookings, mark test results and analyze patient referrals. This would reduce the workload of medical transcriptionists so that more of their time is spent interacting with patients.
Mr Barclay has already announced a £21 million fund to use AI to speed up diagnosis.
It uses machine learning to analyze lung X-rays, diagnose cancer and ensure rapid diagnosis of strokes.