The Impact of Incident Management Automation on Healthcare Efficiency

Operational efficiency is crucial to ensuring optimal patient care while controlling costs. Incident management automation is transforming the healthcare industry by streamlining processes, reducing administrative burdens, and improving service delivery. By integrating advanced software solutions, healthcare organizations can enhance efficiency in healthcare, drive cost-effectiveness, and improve overall patient outcomes.

Streamlining Incident Management for Enhanced Efficiency

With approximately 400,000 hospitalized patients experiencing some preventable harm each year in the United States alone, there is no time to lose in addressing safety events. However, manual incident management processes can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

Traditional methods often require significant human intervention, increasing administrative costs of healthcare – which already account for up to 30% of health care spending – and diverting valuable time from patient care.

Incident management automation addresses these challenges by leveraging technology to detect, analyze, and respond to incidents in real time. Automated incident management systems improve healthcare efficiency by:

• Reducing Response Times: Automated alerts and workflows ensure that incidents are quickly identified and addressed, minimizing disruptions to service delivery. With real-time notifications, healthcare staff can take immediate action, reducing delays in patient treatment and operational workflows. For example, North Olympic Healthcare Network’s (NOHN) incident resolution time was reduced from three weeks to under a week (67%) due to their incident management system’s real-time notifications that expedite responses and improve staff efficiency.
• Enhancing Communication: Integrated platforms facilitate real-time communication between departments, ensuring a coordinated response. These platforms centralize incident reports, allowing multiple teams to access and update information simultaneously, improving response collaboration and efficiency. York Hospital benefited from automated reporting, which eliminated back-and-forth emails and streamlined communication between staff members, leading to quicker incident resolution.
• Improving Documentation and Compliance: Automated reporting capabilities help maintain accurate records, aiding in regulatory compliance and reducing the risk of oversight. This reduces errors associated with manual documentation and ensures healthcare facilities meet industry standards. Upon adopting incident management software, MHC Healthcare experienced a 60% increase in incident reporting, as staff were more likely to document incidents due to a user-friendlier interface. The system allowed for better tracking of safety and security issues, helping MHC Healthcare maintain regulatory compliance by ensuring all incidents were logged and followed up on appropriately.

Reducing Administrative Costs of Healthcare

The administrative costs of healthcare are a significant expenditure for hospitals and other types of healthcare facilities.

The U.S. healthcare system has been estimated to spend $17B annually on addressing preventable adverse events.

Automating incident management reduces these costs by minimizing the need for manual intervention, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on delivering quality patient care rather than administrative tasks.

Key cost-saving benefits include:

• Minimized Downtime: Swift incident resolution prevents operational disruptions that can lead to financial losses. Automated workflows ensure that incidents are addressed efficiently, avoiding prolonged service interruptions that could impact revenue and patient care. Prior to adopting an incident management system, North Olympic Healthcare Network dedicated approximately 30 hours a month to administrative tasks. With the new system, NOHN saved approximately 18 hours per month on administrative tasks, allowing staff to reallocate time toward direct patient care.
• Decreased Labor Costs: Automation reduces the need for extensive manual oversight, enabling staff to be allocated more efficiently. By reducing repetitive administrative tasks, healthcare facilities can reallocate personnel to more critical areas, improving workforce productivity and cost efficiency. MHC Healthcare reduced their administrative burdens by 84%, allowing employees to focus on essential healthcare operations rather than manual data entry.
• Optimized Resource Utilization: Data-driven insights help healthcare providers allocate resources effectively, reducing waste and improving overall efficiency. These insights assist in better planning of staffing, medical equipment use, and inventory management, ensuring resources are used where they are needed most. For example, York Hospital leveraged automated incident reporting to identify trends in patient falls, enabling them to adjust staff schedules and mitigate risk effectively.

Improving Patient Outcomes through Automation

Efficiency in healthcare directly impacts patient outcomes. Delayed or mismanaged incidents can compromise patient safety, increase the length of hospital stays, and negatively affect the overall quality of care.

One study found that inappropriately addressed adverse events were associated with 7.8-day longer stays, 2.5 times more early readmissions, and 4.1 times higher mortality rates on average.

Incident management automation ensures that healthcare facilities operate smoothly, allowing clinicians to prioritize patient needs.

Benefits to patient care include:

• Faster Issue Resolution: Quick identification and resolution of incidents minimize disruptions in patient treatment plans. Automated tracking ensures that issues do not go unnoticed, allowing for swift intervention that can prevent complications and improve recovery rates. After implementing an incident management system, North Olympic Healthcare Network saw a 70% decrease in open incidents, leading to more proactive patient safety measures and timely interventions.
• Enhanced Safety Measures: Automated systems can, over time, help proactively detect potential risks, thereby reducing the likelihood of recurrent adverse events. By analyzing accumulated incident and near miss data, these systems can uncover patterns that reveal gaps in safety processes. For example, MHC Healthcare achieved an 81% reduction in vaccine errors by utilizing automated reporting to track and address medication and vaccine-related incidents more effectively.
• Higher Quality of Care: With reduced administrative burdens, healthcare professionals can dedicate more time and attention to patient care. Automation supports medical staff by streamlining multiple tasks, allowing for a greater focus on direct patient interaction and treatment optimization. York Hospital’s improved reporting system helped establish a medication safety subcommittee, which focused on reducing high-risk medication errors and improving patient safety outcomes.

The Future of Incident Management in Healthcare

As healthcare facilities continue to adopt digital solutions, the role of incident management automation will expand. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are making automated systems even more sophisticated, enabling predictive analytics to prevent incidents before they occur.

Healthcare organizations that invest in incident management automation will not only achieve greater healthcare efficiency but also enhance their ability to deliver high-quality, cost-effective care. By reducing administrative burdens and optimizing workflows, automation empowers healthcare professionals to focus on their primary mission—improving patient health and well-being.

Ready to Learn More?

Discover how Performance Health Partners’ award-winning incident reporting system can streamline the incident management process, and ultimately improve patient safety and care quality. If you’re ready to experience the difference firsthand, connect with our team and book a demo with us today.