The State of Healthcare Automation - Urgent need, growing awareness, tremendous potential - Olive AI
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A Sage Growth Partners Survey February 2021
Sponsored by Olive
The State
of Healthcare
Automation
Urgent need, growing awareness,
tremendous potential
The State of Healthcare Automation 1Executive Summary
The need for AI and automation Key survey findings:
in healthcare organizations has ● Organizations have found that scaling automation is hard.
Respondents listed key challenges such as a longer time to
never been more critical, with the implement and a slower time to ROI than anticipated, as
pandemic heightening pressures on well as the need for additional staff and difficulty identifying
which processes to automate.
healthcare executives to increase ● These challenges make it imperative to select the right
efficiency, drive growth, and create partner. Key criteria for technology providers are healthcare
specialization, proven ROI with an enterprise-capable
a better patient experience. An solution, effective security, and performance reliability.
independent survey conducted ● There is a trend away from building automations in-house
and towards full-service models that provide AI-as-a-
by healthcare consultancy Sage Service (AIaaS). The 2020 survey found half of those with an
existing automation solution prefer an AIaaS model, while
Growth Partners and sponsored only 12% prefer to build it themselves.
by Olive found that, after years of ● These findings suggest that the future of AI and automation
may lie in enterprise-wide AIaaS solutions with proven
lagging behind other industries, AI healthcare expertise and ROI.
and automation are finally being
adopted to enable hospitals and
health systems to transform core
business processes and operations.
In just one year, awareness and adoption of AI & automation in
healthcare has grown significantly, but implementation is nascent.
66% 90% 34% 20% 53%
of respondents are today have an AI have now of organizations of those with
now familiar with and automation implemented have moved automation
robotic process strategy, up from automation beyond the pilot solutions are
automation, up 53% last year.* solutions, versus stage of AI and seeking to expand
from 50% last year.* 23% a year ago.* automation their capabilities.
2019 2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 projects.
* Sage Growth Partners conducted a similar survey of 115 large healthcare organizations in 2019. Data available upon request.
The State of Healthcare Automation 2Introduction
Declining revenues and capacity
constraints have only been
exacerbated by the pandemic,
making it essential for healthcare
organizations to prioritize
investments that increase efficiency
and lower costs — such as AI and
automation.
The challenges and rewards of automation are both becoming
more apparent. Forrester Consulting reported that 79% of firms
achieved tangible results in both employee productivity and
customer experience, and it projects that the automation market “There’s a tremendous
will more than double from 2019 to 20231. However, it also found amount of waste in
that malfunctioning and non-resilient automations contributed
to the challenges of scaling across the enterprise. healthcare. The more
that we’re able to
This survey of healthcare executives similarly found that the use
of AI and automation is nascent but is reaching the tipping point automate and integrate
where needs are heightened and the technology’s potential with other organizations,
value is becoming more widely recognized and realized. The
findings shown here highlight the growth in awareness and the more we can reduce
adoption of automation, the challenges in its deployment, and waste.”
lessons learned for healthcare organizations and the technology
partners who seek to serve them. — CHCIO, major south central health system
The State of Healthcare Automation 3Exploding Awareness and Adoption
AI and automation awareness and adoption have grown ● From 2019* to 2020, executive familiarity with automation
significantly in just one year, although healthcare organizations grew from 50% to 66% and deployment of automation
are still early in the maturity curve. Given that most executives solutions increased from 23% to 34% (Figure 1).
have an automation strategy in place, it’s likely that the use of
● In contrast to 2019, when 47% had no AI/automation
this technology will grow exponentially in the next two years.
strategy, 90% have a strategy today. However, most
organizations are still in the planning (41%) or early
implementation (25%) stage (Figure 2).
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF AUTOMATION STATUS OF AI & AUTOMATION STRATEGIES
90% of organizations have AI strategies but only
Automation is Growing 7% are fully operational
70%
60%
50%
40% 10% No strategy or plan
30%
20%
41% Drafted a strategy
10%
0%
2019 2020 2019 2020
Familiar with RPA Deployed RPA
25% Begun pilot projects
(n=115) for 2019 | (n=100) for 2020
17% Advanced beyond pilot projects
7% Strategy is fully operational
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
(n=100)
“To save costs, we can’t just cut staff; we have to figure out how to re-
engineer processes via automation, technology, scanning, or using AI.
And now we’re looking to prioritize those projects that have a return
on investment. So, the whole game has changed with COVID.”
– Kenneth Sable, MD, MBA, FACEP, Regional President, Southern Market at Hackensack Meridian Health
*Note: 2019 survey data is not depicted in graphs. Data available upon request.
The State of Healthcare Automation 4Pandemic Fuels Urgent Need for Automation
Fueled by the pandemic, the C-suite increasingly relies on ● Three-quarters (75%) of respondents say automation
automation to drive their key strategic initiatives. AI and automation initiatives are more important or significantly more important
are quickly moving from nice-to-have to necessary, especially in since the pandemic.
revenue cycle, supply chain and clinical administration.
● Cutting wasteful spending to drive revenue growth
and collections is of utmost importance in accelerating
automation imperatives (Figure 3).
● The areas that executives believe would benefit most from
automation are Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), supply
chain, and clinical administration (Figure 4).
FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4
FACTORS DRIVING AUTOMATION INVESTMENT TOP AREAS BENEFITING FROM AUTOMATION
AND GROWTH
80%
79%
Cutting wasteful spending will help us
recuperate and grow faster 76% 70%
60%
Revenue collection is more important than ever
67% 60%
given the reduction in elective procedures
55%
Pharmacy/340B Manager
50%
Human Resources
We need better predictability and
64%
insights into our operations 40%
36%
Clinical Administration
30%
The virtual work environment has required
us to invest more in reliable technology
61%
28%
24%
Revenue Cycle
20%
Supply Chain
IT/Help Desk
We need more capacity - layoffs
Other
31% 16%
Finance
and furloughs have strained our staff 10%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 0%
(n=75) (n=100)
* Sage Growth Partners conducted a similar survey of 115 large healthcare organizations in 2019. Data available upon request.
The State of Healthcare Automation 5Top Barriers to Scaling AI and Automation
The majority of those who have implemented automation ● Among those with existing automation, 59% currently use it
solutions note that the technology is live in only a few areas in for five or fewer use cases (Figure 5).
their organization. Executives say it’s critical to have a partner
● The top implementation challenges are slow time to
that can identify the processes that would most benefit from AI
implement, lower ROI than expected, and staff constraints
and automation and that can continuously monitor projects for
(Figure 6).
additional improvements.
● About half (53%) of those with automation plan to expand.
FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
NUMBER OF USE CASES THE GREATEST CHALLENGES TO AI &
LIVE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AUTOMATION IMPLEMENTATION
None - still
Many (10+) implementing
We are resource constrained and don’t have enough
staff to devote to an RPA implementation right now 44%
6% 9% We have struggled to identify and pursue the
processes that are best suited for automation 44%
System and process changes disrupt
our workflow and cause delay 38%
We don’t have a way to compare our success
or learn from organizations like ours 35%
We are unable to predict and
35% fix issues in a timely manner 35%
50%
We don’t have the internal technical
talent to work with automation tools 35%
Limited data and analytics make it challenging to see ROI
29% and get insight into work that automations completes
Lack of sound governance results in hidden
24% or rogue automations across the enterprise
Several
(5-10)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
A few (0-5)
(n=34)
(n=34)
“We’re seeking to contract with vendors in a partnership model. I
want to work with people who have some skin in the game, whether
it’s upside or downside risk. A vendor should be willing to take risk.”
– Kenneth Sable, MD, MBA, FACEP, Regional President, Southern Market at Hackensack Meridian Health
The State of Healthcare Automation 6Automation has tremendous potential,
especially with the right approach and partner
Some organizations have learned how to optimize automation ● Healthcare organizations familiar with automation and those
projects and are already realizing value. Having the right team, with automation solutions running for more than a year are
approach, and partner are key success factors. While the more likely to prefer AIaaS (52% and 62%, respectively).
winning model has not yet emerged, AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS),
● While more than half experience positive ROI from
a full-service model that entails contracting with a technology
automation, few have achieved an ROI of 3x or greater
partner to build, deliver, monitor, and support automations, is
(Figure 8).
increasingly preferred. Those who have deployed automation
more widely are realizing more value. ● Using AIaaS can enable organizations to achieve success
more quickly, as 50% of those that have an automation
● AIaaS is preferred by 45%, while only 16% are likely to build solution in place used their vendor to implement and
automations themselves (Figure 7). maintain automation projects.
FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8
PREFERRED AUTOMATION APPROACHES ROI FROM COMPLETED AUTOMATIONS
AIaaS is emerging as a leading model
50%
45% 11% Negative return
Hire consultants to recommend
40%
Break even ROI 33%
30%
Hire consultants to build
2-3x ROI 41%
Build it myself
20% 23%
11% 3-5x ROI
16% 16%
10%
4% Greater than 5x return
AIaaS
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
0%
(n=100) (n=27)
“We’d want to leverage somebody from the “We want to
outside since we don’t have the resources to work with a
build, manage, and maintain it ourselves long- partner that we
term. And instead of piecemealing it, we’d love can build with.”
to have one or two vendors that provide most – CFO and Chief Analytics
of the capabilities for our health system.” Officer, western academic
healthcare system
– Michael Elley, MBA, CHCIO, Baptist Health
*2019 data from a similar survey conducted by Sage Growth Partners.
Data is not shown but is available upon request.
The State of Healthcare Automation 7Key Criteria for AI and Automation Success
Given that automation is increasingly necessary but difficult ● Interviewees noted that a comprehensive solution that can
to implement and scale, not all organizations will succeed. As start small and grow to cover multiple workflows is preferred
several executives noted when interviewed, poorly executed over a point solution, so the organization isn’t dealing with
automation can even set the organization back and make multiple vendors.
driving organizational buy-in for future automation projects
● Solutions with proven ROI have become even more
more difficult. That makes having the right partner all the more
important since COVID. The top criteria for selecting an
important. Here are the characteristics executives say they
automation partner are: Security and compliance, proven
value in a technology partner.
ROI, healthcare expertise, and reliable performance/uptime
(Figure 10).
● Two-thirds (66%) of respondents prefer a healthcare-focused
solution over one spread across multiple industries (Figure 9).
FIGURE 9 FIGURE 10
TRUST IN BROAD VS. HEALTHCARE-SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS KEY CRITERIA FOR PARTNER SELECTION
Compliance, ROI, healthcare focus,and performance
are most important
A broad
RPA solution
Security and compliance 80%
Proven ROI 72%
35% Healthcare expertise and focus 64%
Reliability/uptime 63%
A healthcare focused Dedicated,
solution who learns responsive support 46%
all day, every day Ability to scale
43%
from organizations with single vendor
66% like yours Adoption by leading
42%
healthcare providers
Little to no strain on IT 40%
Ability to contract in value-based /
30% pay for performance
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
(n=75)
(n=100)
“We found that automation costs
more than you think it does. It’s
“A solution built specifically for not just maintaining the bots.
healthcare is a differentiator in You have to pay for the software
the market. You want to work with and coordination and ongoing
somebody who understands your maintenance related to changes
business.” in your other systems. Anytime you
– Ken Sable, MD, MBA, FACEP, Regional President, upgrade your EHR, you risk breaking
Southern Market at Hackensack Meridian Health
whatever the bot is doing.”
– Bridget Barnes, CIO, Oregon Health and Science University
The State of Healthcare Automation 8Conclusion
Adopting automation is a strategic imperative to drive sustained About the Survey
growth and accelerate revenues. The pandemic’s impact
In 2020, Olive and Sage Growth Partners conducted a survey
on financials and staff has heightened the need to invest in
of how CXOs at leading U.S. healthcare organizations perceive
efficient and scalable processes, contributing to the burgeoning
and use/plan to use AI and automation to help address
awareness and usage of AI and automation and moving it from
strategic and operational challenges.
a value-added option to a must-have capability.
● Respondents are 100 leaders of healthcare organizations
However, automation has yet to move beyond the pilot stage for
with revenues exceeding $800M.
most healthcare organizations today, and some are stumbling as
they launch projects or expand to other areas. The risk of failure ● 76% are C-level executives (chiefly CIOs, COOs, and CFOs).
makes selecting the right AI and automation partner all the more
● Nearly half (48%) are part of health systems.
critical. Executives increasingly value partners that specialize
in healthcare, can achieve ROI, and can serve multiple areas ● The quantitative survey was supplemented by in-depth
throughout the enterprise as they expand. The winning model interviews with six executives.
has not yet emerged, but there is a trend away from building The 2019 survey yielded 115 respondents, 96% of whom were
automation capabilities in-house towards a full-service model, leaders at organizations with revenues over $300M; 68% of
and most of those with automation and AI in place used this these organizations were part of health systems.
model to become early adopters of the technology.
About Olive About Sage Growth Partners
Olive’s AI workforce is built to fix our broken healthcare Sage Growth Partners accelerates commercial success for B2B,
system by addressing healthcare’s most burdensome issues B2B2C, and B2C healthcare organizations through a singular
— delivering hospitals and health systems increased revenue, focus on growth. The company helps its clients thrive amid
reduced costs, and increased capacity. People feel lost in the the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace with deep
system today and healthcare employees are essentially working domain expertise and an integrated application of research,
in the dark due to outdated technology that creates a lack of strategy, and marketing. Founded in 2005, Sage Growth
shared knowledge and siloed data. Olive is designed to drive Partners is located in Baltimore, MD, and serves clients such as
connections, shining a new light on the broken healthcare Philips Healthcare, U.S. Renal Care, Quest Diagnostics, Vocera,
processes that stand between providers and patient care. She iN2L, and Aperture.
uses AI to reveal life-changing insights that make healthcare
more efficient, affordable and effective. Olive’s vision is to
unleash a trillion dollars of hidden potential within healthcare
by connecting its disconnected systems. Olive is improving
healthcare operations today, so everyone can benefit from a
healthier industry tomorrow.
1. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200212005226/en/RPA-Reality-Check-New-Forrester-Research-Identifies-Barriers-to-RPA-Scalability
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