Value of AI in Scheduling for Wound Care Providers

The chief goal of any provider in the wound care industry is to offer the highest level of care possible to patients. It’s no secret that in order to do that, providers must pay attention to things like resource management, efficient budgeting, and the financial bottom line. The stronger a provider is in these areas, the more freedom and flexibility they have to offer that elevated level of care.

What we’d like to do today is have a discussion about an available resource that can help wound care providers reach and exceed their goals in all three of these areas. We’re talking about the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Wait…We’re Too Small for AI

Before you close your browser thinking that you don’t have the time or resources for a major investment like AI, we want to alleviate those concerns. Yes, AI advancements in the area of clinical analytics are generally fairly robust, require larger financial investments, and can be a steep climb to secure the necessary buy-in from stakeholders. However, the use of AI in the area of operational analytics is a different story. These solutions can have equally as impactful benefits, but they don’t require an over-the-top investment. Additionally, seeing the real value and potential ROI is a much easier discussion.

Today, we want to share one example of using AI in operational analytics in the field of wound care. Specifically, we want to talk about the way that AI is reshaping scheduling.

How AI Can Change Wound Care Scheduling

Let’s take a look at three ways that AI can be used to turbocharge scheduling. Keep in mind that the requirements to integrate these operational analytics solutions are a low threshold but the potential for gains is still massive.

Demand Forecasting

Want to know how many patients to expect based on seasonality? Would it be helpful to know with more certainty exactly how many sessions it will take for a patient to see the needed results? Curious how local and national events will affect patient demand? AI has the ability to pour through mountains of data that humans feasibly can’t in order to pull out these trends and metrics. With that data, you can schedule better, allocate resources more efficiently, and save money by being better prepared. The best part is that the data needed to drive these solutions is most likely already being collected by your existing systems.

Reducing Cancellations and No Shows

How helpful would it be if you knew which patients were the most likely to no-show or cancel an upcoming appointment? How much money is left on the table when providers have huge unplanned gaps in their schedules? AI systems have the ability to sift through socioeconomic data, past visit histories, and even things like the weather to help determine the likelihood of a patient no-showing, canceling, or self-discharging.

When you have this information, your team can do things like send extra reminders, check-in with these patients the day before their appointment, or even double book the slot with two patients likely to no-show.

Improve Employee Scheduling Quality

Not only can AI help wound care providers to improve the quality of their patient scheduling but it can also be used to help with staff scheduling. AI systems can look through the types of patients you have scheduled and compare that data with your available staff and their strongest skillsets. This can help to automatically schedule staff where their services will be the most effective. This means more efficiency, better patient outcomes, and happier clients.

What is the Next Step?

What’s great about all of these AI scheduling enhancements is that they’re low barrier to entry solutions. Many of these solutions are already available and are built to integrate quickly and seamlessly with existing EHRs and management systems. We’re excited to share that Net Health is helping to lead the charge on many of these solutions and is helping wound care providers realize these incredible benefits. If you’re interested in learning how Net Health may be able to help your team, we’d encourage you to schedule a demo.

The Future of Wound Care: Predictive Analytics

Changing the way wound care clinics operate and treat patients.

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