The secret to less front desk burnout

Frontline healthcare staff are tasked with a dizzying amount of responsibilities, from checking in patients and verifying insurance to collecting copays and managing consent forms. With tight staffing and increasing patient volumes, it’s no surprise that burnout is at an all-time high. 

But there’s a secret weapon that leading healthcare organizations are turning to for help: automation. 

The power of automation 

Automating repetitive, time-consuming front desk tasks, such as collecting clinical forms, can dramatically lighten the load on front desk staff. With AI-powered workflows, tasks like collecting consent forms, insurance information, and pre-visit check-ins that once took 10-15 minutes per patient on average can now run in the background before the patient even arrives. 

For example, with a digital check-in system supported by automation: 

• Patients receive a reminder and complete forms on their own device, in their own time 
• Insurance cards are captured and verified digitally 
• Copay and balance collection happen upfront 
• Consent forms are signed electronically and exported to the EHR automatically 

This automation means less scanning, fewer calls, and eliminated paperwork for your staff, freeing them to focus more on human connection during patient visits. 

More than efficiency: a better patient experience

Automation doesn’t just help your team. It also improves the patient experience. 

Patients value convenience and speed. Instead of filling out clipboards or standing in line, they can complete forms at home or from their mobile device upon arrival. 

This touchless, streamlined experience leads to: 

• Reduced wait times
• Fewer errors 
• Higher satisfaction

Eliminating the clipboard 

Health systems that automate clinical forms see success in staff time savings, patient satisfaction levels, and digital patient engagement.

Montage Health saved 537 hours for registration staff over just six weeks by automating clinical forms. The health system had a 55% pre-visit form completion rate, and patients reported a 91% satisfaction rate with the process.

Sturdy Health discovered an additional benefit of automating clinical forms when it deployed a workflow for pre-visit behavioral health screenings: patients displayed a greater willingness to share sensitive information when they were able to complete forms privately at home rather than in-person at their doctor’s office. Sturdy Health saw its questionnaire completion rates skyrocket from approximately 10% before automation to 55-60% with automation. Positivity rates on those screenings increased from under 2% to a stable 5%. By offloading this task, Sturdy gained four FTEs of staff capacity and saved over 5,100 staff hours. 

A sustainable future for frontline teams 

As staffing gaps widen, healthcare organizations must find innovative ways to do more with less. Automating clinical forms is a simple, effective step in creating a more sustainable, patient-centered health system. 

By lifting the administrative burden from your front desk staff, you can reduce burnout, improve retention, and build a better experience for everyone who walks through your doors.

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