NHS Arden & GEM manages a national referral support service (NRSS) on behalf of NHS England. When the NRSS team wanted to streamline part of the process to improve handling times, capacity and accuracy, they worked in collaboration with RPA experts.
Detailed process flows were mapped where RPA could be implemented to develop and deploy a three-phase automation solution. The new process is faster, more efficient and more accurate, freeing staff to focus on tasks that add greater value to patient care.
The challenge
The existing referral management process was proving resource-intensive for both the referral management team and the service providers.
The process required administrators to access and filter approved referrals through an electronic database. Where a referral didn't specify a provider, the team had to manually contact patients via email or phone and then update their status on the system. Where responses weren’t received a two-stage follow up process was enacted, with referrals closed after 18 days.
With over 60 new referrals each week, this manual, repetitive and time-consuming process was leading to bottlenecks, putting the team under unnecessary time pressures and delaying patient referrals to providers.
Our approach
Arden & GEM’s in-house RPA experts worked with the referral management team to document the current process and identify the three main phases which could be executed by bots.
- Referral organising bot: The bot logs into the Blueteq® patient database, extracts data and performs data validations to exclude duplicate NHS numbers. Where a provider has been pre-selected, it prepares a list of new referrals to process and confirms selection with the patient. This phase alone saves the team multiple hours.
- Communications and engagement bot: The bot sends initial and follow-up emails, based on patient preference, requesting the selection of a provider and then updates the system with their responses in a timely and accurate format.
- Report generating bot: The bot generates a detailed report which summarises the status of each referral, then identifies any issues and provides a clear overview, ready for review by the provider team.
After rigorous testing, the automation solution was released to production and fits seamlessly into the wider workflow.
The outcomes
The solution has had an immediate positive impact.
- Improved speed: The handling time per referral was reduced from ten minutes to two minutes, significantly reducing the overall response time.
- Increased capacity: The bot processes from 100 to 300 monthly referrals without needing additional resources or support.
- Greater accuracy: Implementation of RPA has eliminated errors. The solution is designed to deliver 98% error-free, with a detailed description of the issues faced.
- Resource allocation: With the RPA solution taking over execution of repetitive tasks, the team can now focus on more complex tasks which add greater value to patient care.
"The implementation of RPA within the national referral service has had a positive impact. The use of automation has meant increased efficiency by reducing the number of manual repetitive tasks our team are required to complete and in turn reducing the risk of errors being made.
Through the use and development of the RPA, this has demonstrated other areas of the service that would benefit from its use. The RPA team were very communicative and responsive to development requests at all stages of the project."
Business Support Manager – National Referral Support Service
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