The power of automated care orchestration
Clinicians are tired of the administrative burdens of care coordination, but most don’t see an alternative. All they’ve known is manual execution, and they’re too far removed from health system IT departments to realize technology offers relief. It’s time to make the connection.

While automating care coordination processes can conjure up images of a complex artificial intelligence algorithm making predictions based on trained data models, the reality is simpler and more elegant. It’s deterministic care orchestration where known information, such as the existence or absence of lab results, is automatically identified in an EHR or other data source and then next-best actions are initiated for each patient (e.g., flagging a patient for a doctor consultation or automating surgery scheduling).
Deterministic care orchestration requires real-time patient data and clinical intelligence to algorithmically identify patient risk and triage patients appropriately. Automating care coordination across large volumes of patients saves clinicians time while proper triage lets them focus on high-risk patients who need more interaction. Automation increases efficiency by freeing clinicians from repetitive care coordination tasks and letting them operate at the top of their licenses.

Furthermore, this type of orchestration creates consistency across sites of care and ensures all providers are aligned and informed on care coordination updates and responsibilities. This information sharing should extend to patients: By prompting patients to confirm or update information, health systems can identify new conditions, comorbidities, or medications before they derail a scheduled clinical event.

Innovative healthcare providers are benefiting from this technology. One system used to require every preoperative patient, regardless of health or type of surgery, to visit a clinician. This visit largely consisted of vital sign collection, order scheduling, and lab reviews — steps that have since been automated. Now, two out of three patients bypass this in-person visit, saving 20% in cost per case and increasing patient satisfaction.

This efficiency can be achieved in all types of care coordination, from care transitions and discharge readiness to chronic disease management. All that health systems must do is ignore the stigma associated with automation and let technology handle the tedium overwhelming their clinicians.

About the author: Greg Miller is the chief growth officer of Lumeon, a digital health company focused on automating care coordination processes.

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