Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “send referrals and chase the paperwork”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

45 min
typically, every day
45%
of the time can be automated
Some setup
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Let AI sort faxes and referrals into the right chart and queue

Intelligent document tools read incoming faxes and referrals, match them to the patient, label the document type and route it. Staff check the uncertain ones instead of sorting every page.

Typically saves about 50% of the time4 h to set up
  1. 1Count how many faxes and referrals you handle a day.
  2. 2Ask IT about AI document processing that works with your EHR (for example Tennr, Concord, Medsender or Notable).
  3. 3Start with one document type, such as referrals or outside records.
  4. 4Review the low-confidence items daily.
  5. 5Only use tools your organization has approved and covered by a HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA) for anything with patient information.

Tools: Tennr · Concord · Medsender · Notable

Fix 2 of 2

Software feature

Use secure messaging instead of paging and waiting by the phone

Secure chat lets you message the right doctor, pharmacist or unit with the patient context attached, see when they read it, and carry on working.

Typically saves about 30% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1Check which secure messaging tool you have: Epic Secure Chat, TigerConnect, Vocera or Microsoft Teams with healthcare settings.
  2. 2Use it for non-urgent questions instead of pages.
  3. 3Message the role (for example "on-call cardiology") rather than a person, if your tool supports it.
  4. 4Keep phone calls for urgent changes.

Tools: Epic Secure Chat · TigerConnect · Vocera · Microsoft Teams

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Do you use secure chat instead of paging and waiting by the phone?
Tools like Epic Secure Chat or TigerConnect let you message the doctor or pharmacy with the patient attached and carry on working while you wait.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

Medical assistant / front desk

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Take the free check Scan my team, $49

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.

Other common tasks for Medical assistants / front desk staff