AI in healthcare

Amidst all the excitement about the potential benefits AI may bring in healthcare, one area that is often overlooked is the opportunity to improve processes in HR to bring about efficiencies, improve productivity and better staff experience.

Hill Dickinson and Health Innovation Network South London were keen to explore this at their most recent AI in Healthcare Forum and were delighted to be joined by Clare Teeney, Chief People Officer for University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, who was able to share some fascinating insights. We’re pleased to share some of these insights in this short blog. 

The forum discussed the current challenges Trusts are facing in relation to HR processes and explored the potential ways in which AI can provide solutions to these. Finding such solutions would increase trust and confidence in HR processes within the workforce, which in turn would improve staff experience and positively impact patient care and experience within the organisation. 

Existing challenges within HR systems and processes across the NHS include, but are not limited to:

• High volume of repetitive activities with lots of manual intervention 
• High volume of queries for colleagues 
• HR systems still being largely transacted on paper resulting in inefficient processes, staff having difficulty and inconsistency in accessing records, and creating basic issues such as staff not being paid or overpayments
• Issues recording, approving and transacting variable work correctly
• Variability within the NHS in terms of the systems and HR processes being used, which then causes issues around portability of data between organisations. 
• Limitations in data and information to inform effective decision making
• A lack of time for HR colleagues to develop and realise their potential
• An impact on front line clinical colleagues whose time is adversely affected

Potential solutions to these challenges, which may be helped through the use of AI, include: 

• Automating the recording, approving and transacting processes for standard HR issues
• Standardisation and scaling up across multiple Trusts regionally, including through provider collaboratives 
• Rolling out chatbots for use by HR teams and line managers to answer common queries relating to HR policies and in time rolling these out to staff
• In time, more radical solutions involving analysis of workforce data for the benefit of staff 

It was agreed that the key in all cases was to identify one or more quick fixes which could improve HR processes swiftly to generate improvements in the experience of a large majority of the workforce. This will be crucial in increasing their confidence in regard to HR systems and processes, and ensuring employees support further proposed changes.

So, in summary, there is huge potential for AI to positively impact HR processes and systems within the healthcare sector, particularly on a regional basis, where small improvements can make a big difference to efficiencies, productivity and staff experience. These in turn have a positive impact on patient experience. 

Hill Dickinson and Health Innovation Network South London host the AI in Healthcare Forum as a quarterly roundtable discussion, facilitating discussions between representatives from the NHS and AI industry providers about opportunities and challenges in the adoption of AI across the NHS. If you would be interested in attending or have any queries in relation to anything above, please contact Jamie Foster.