By Hieu Nguyen 
The adoption of digital technology has changed the healthcare sector in Australia for the better. Australians have benefitted from new health technologies in improved care outcomes, patient experiences and cost reduction.
However, there remains an undeniable gap in how hospitals, public health, and aged care providers around the country currently approach clinical engagement. A recent panel discussion hosted by FPT Software revealed the current challenges Victorian healthcare providers faced in their daily work, and the participants unanimously agreed that there was a need to better streamline processes and improve how information is shared.
Intelligent automation (IA)—an innovative combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies—emerges as a promising solution to inject efficiency into healthcare operations while ensuring patient care is the utmost priority.
Data integration
One of the major challenges raised by the group is the fragmentation of healthcare data across different systems and providers. While Electronic Health Records (EHR) can enhance workflows and accessibility, it is arduous to comprehend the systems and to capitalise on their full aptitude extensively.
Australian healthcare organisations often face inefficiencies and workflow challenges when designing, customising, and implementing EHRs. The lack of interoperability between different EHR systems and between different systems within an organisation can make it difficult to exchange and share patient information across departments.
Implementing automation solutions to EHR systems can automate patient data collection, analysis, and management, helping healthcare providers streamline their operations and allocate more resources toward critical tasks such as patient care and research. Automation enables seamless, secure sharing of patient information, improving efficiency and enhancing the patient experience. Doctors can make more informed decisions by accessing comprehensive medical histories, reducing the need for repetitive questioning.
Introducing automation technology can maximise the benefits of EHR systems, help healthcare organisations make informed decisions faster, and drive better patient outcomes.
Customer-centric healthcare
AI and advanced analytics today offer the ability to integrate and synthesise large volumes of clinical data, providing Australian clinicians, aged care providers, and carers alike with a more holistic view of patient information. Access to this information not only supports treatment accuracy, but can also help providers identify patterns, predict health risks or outcomes, and enable proactive, personalised care as well as early intervention.
In aged care, for example, AI is increasingly supporting family and service providers by helping to detect changes in human behaviour and routines that may indicate underlying health issues. AI improves care and allows older adults to remain in their own homes for longer, improving their quality of life.
AI has already been successfully used to diagnose a wide range of medical conditions. It can be trained on extensive datasets that include medical images like X-rays, MRI and CT scans, lab results, and medical records and shows great utility for Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM).
Computer vision technology, a notable example of AI in real-life RPM situations, can be used to early detect the risk of falls for patients, such as slippery floors, strangled wires, non-place furniture, sharp objects, etc. Along with the detection from wearable devices or home sensors, computer-vision-aided cameras can hugely improve the care quality to patients by minimising the chance of falls, one of the most popular reasons causing patients to go into severe conditions.
Advanced data analytics on lifestyle and behaviour are also considered a helpful and feasible application of AI. By continuously collecting data via smart wearable devices, smartphones, and sensors, AI-infused digital assistants can provide patients and their caregivers with more precise and on-time suggestions. This ability to foster patient engagement empowers individuals to actively participate in their care, contributing to better health outcomes and treatment adherence while preventing premature dropout.
Unlocking greater productivity
Manual administrative tasks have long challenged the healthcare industry, consuming valuable resources that could otherwise be dedicated to patient care. Now, intelligent automation (IA), powered by AI and machine learning (ML), is transforming this landscape. IA solutions streamline scheduling, from booking appointments to sending reminders, cutting missed appointments and optimising efficiency. Within the aged care environment, AI eases the load on care providers from time-consuming processes, allowing them to focus more on resident well-being.
AI-powered chatbots, integrated with advanced machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), are also making an impact by managing routine tasks around the clock. Beyond merely answering common health inquiries, these chatbots efficiently schedule appointments, send personalised medication reminders, and offer on-demand assistance. By automating these interactions, these chatbots enhance patient engagement and free up professionals to focus on more complex, high-impact care, creating a seamless communication channel between patients and providers.
Generative AI adds another layer by prepopulating visit summaries based on patient-specific data. Leveraging its language modeling and contextual understanding, generative AI encodes details about a patient’s medical history, recent treatments, and diagnostic findings. It can also detect anomalies, flag potential errors, and validate data, reducing the likelihood of documentation mistakes during data entry.
As Australian healthcare organisations continue to navigate increasingly complex environments, automation, AI, and robotics are proving essential for meaningful improvements in patient care. Yet, their success hinges on implementation that enhances—rather than replaces—the essential human touch in healthcare. Addressing ethical, privacy, and workflow integration concerns will be key to unlocking the full potential of these technologies, creating a more efficient and compassionate healthcare system.
Matthew Brady