Medical documents are unique. Unstructured, lengthy, and often containing sensitive information, medical document processing is a job that usually requires a human touch. Getting details correct and eliminating duplicate paperwork isn’t easy — which is why businesses who process medical records tend to keep it as a manual task.

However, repetitive paperwork isn’t just time consuming. Manual document processes also lead to higher rates of error, more stress on your staff, and difficulty creating a remote or paperless office. Automating medical document processing is necessary, but the nature of medical documents makes it difficult to do. 

So what is the solution? Leveraging technology like AI for medical document processing gives you the best of both worlds. Automating repetitive, error-prone, and time consuming tasks frees up employee’s time, reduces stress, and allows designated users to access documents from anywhere, while automating with AI keeps a ‘human in the loop’ to make sure important (and private) information stays safe. 

When should you use manual medical document processing? When is it helpful to get AI involved? Here are some of the basics about choosing manual medical document processing vs. using AI. 

When Should you use Manual Medical Document Processing?

If You’re Analyzing Medical Data

Patient information is sensitive. While clinical records, notes from physicians, consultation reports, and medical images are necessary to process a claim, they should be reviewed manually, and only by the experts involved. 

Doctors, claims assessors, lawyers, and insurers need to see this information, but some staff do not! Keeping this information accessible, but private, makes it easy for key players to retrieve it without the risk of privacy or compliance breaches, clerical errors, or lost files.

Patient case documents are one way manual medical document processes can work in combination with AI. Technology can tag, sort, and organize documents that would have otherwise added significant time to the workflow. With this data organized and easy to retrieve, doctors, lawyers, or other actors involved can spend less of their time looking for files, and more time spent providing a comprehensive (and accurate!) report. This is especially cost effective, since these professional decision makers typically bill more for their time.

If You’re Doing Document Review

While you can (and should, if you ask us!) use AI to automate the bulk of medical document processing, sometimes that ‘human in the loop’ is a necessary piece of the puzzle. Using manual medical document processing in combination with AI gives staff the flexibility to tailor the final product to client needs. Different clients prefer their information presented in different ways, and with manual final review, you can ensure your file looks the way you (and your clients) want. 

When Should you use AI Medical Document Processing?

If You’re Looking for Speed

Automating repetitive work, deleting duplicates, and tagging, grouping and organizing files all save you time. Manual work is necessary when experts are involved or decisions need to be made, but much of medical document processing doesn’t need to be done by hand. 

Time consuming, repetitive, and labor intensive processes are best saved for the tech tools of the future. With AI, hundreds of medical files can be automatically tagged, sorted, and organized in minutes. This saves your staff time spent flipping through pages, and creates a hyperlinked table of contents decision makers can use to access files fast.

If You’re Going Remote

Paperless is the future! Without a bulky office full of filing cabinets and other paper storage systems, your staff no longer need to spend time retrieving physical files. Not only does this support the ability to work from home (saving money on office space), it also helps attract and retain talent. A recent study by McKinsey showed that 87% of Americans would take a hybrid workplace if they were offered it. 

Recently, our customers at AGS Rehab Solutions transitioned to a 100% remote workforce. By leveraging Wisedocs’ artificial intelligence, the AGS team uploads case files to Wisedocs the night before, and kick starts their day by finalizing edits and quality assurance (QA) before sending the end product out to medical assessors and other recipients.

Digital documents can go anywhere. With privacy restrictions and user permissions set up to control who has access to each file, your documents are not only easy to find — they’re safe!

If You’re Trying to Scale

Using your staff more effectively means a faster turnaround and more capacity for new work. For law firms, independent medical evaluators, claims providers, healthcare agencies or other users of medical documents, AI medical document processing helps you do more with less. When you can take on more work without additional headcount, you take your business to a larger scale — not just help it grow. 

AI Medical Document Processing: A Unique Solution

Unlike bank statements, financial records, forms or other types of administrative paperwork, medical records have their own set of challenges. With such a human centric goal, patient files need special detail and care from the decision makers involved. However, a purely manual process means wait times that negatively impact these same patients and their families. 

AI medical document processing makes professional decision making easier. For a faster way to process claims, automation is the way to go!