The push for the adoption of electronic health records, spurred by the 2011 HITECH Act and Meaningful Use programs left healthcare professionals scrambling to adapt to a foreign digital world. While the intent of these initiatives was to modernize the healthcare industry, it inevitably created a rift between the bedside providers and the behind the scenes staff.
The Administrative Bottleneck: Refusing to Relinquish the Fax Machine
If you have ever worked in an ambulatory care clinic, then the following scenario may sound familiar.
Imagine this: A new patient is referred to a surgical specialty practice, with the referral arriving unannounced via fax. The office staff has no prior notification of the patient or the referral. Eventually, the fax makes its way to the patient coordinator, who is responsible for triaging referral requests. As they review the documents, the coordinator discovers that key information is missing, preventing them from moving forward with scheduling the patient. Forced to pause the intake process, they must contact the referring office to request the missing details and then wait—sometimes for days—for the additional documents to arrive.
When the requested information finally arrives, the patient coordinator prepares a packet, schedules an appointment, and mails intake forms to the patient. Weeks later, the patient arrives without the completed forms, resulting in redundant paperwork and further delays in care. The doctor and nurse, meanwhile, are left to piece together incomplete information, duplicating efforts as the patient’s health history—now filled out twice—fails to reach them in time. Eventually, the forms are scanned into the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, but by then it’s too late; the patient has already left, and the opportunity for meaningful action has passed, further undermining efficiency.
Patients are asked the same questions multiple times about their health history because the piece of paper they filled often never makes it into the hands of the physician. It’s often faster to ask the same questions again than to track it down. This is not an isolated scenario. It’s a systemic problem where siloed processes and outdated tools prevent administrative staff from doing their jobs effectively.
Root Causes of Inefficiency: Why Does This Happen?
- There are a variety of factors that drive inefficiencies: Legacy Systems: Many healthcare organizations rely on aging infrastructure ill-suited for modern demands.
- Unstructured Data: Patient information often arrives from multiple sources and in various formats, with no clear guidance on how to handle it. As a result, it fails to reach the right person at the right time, creating chaos instead of clarity.
- Leadership Blind Spots: IT talent and resources are often prioritized for direct patient care areas, leaving administrative systems and processes neglected and perpetually unaddressed.
- Regulatory Burdens: Constantly changing rules and regulations add layers of complexity without offering practical solutions.
These issues don’t just inconvenience staff; they directly impact patient outcomes, practice revenue, and the overall healthcare experience.
Beyond Quick Fixes: A Vision for Unified Healthcare
The healthcare industry’s inefficiencies extend beyond patient intake and referrals. Processes like prior authorization, medication reconciliation, regulatory compliance, and care coordination all suffer from fragmentation. A unified approach is needed—one that connects data seamlessly and activates it in real-time.
The one-size-fits-all solutions are relics of a bygone era, and no longer serve the complex needs of today’s healthcare industry. The reliance on niche, single-purpose products is unsustainable. The industry requires versatile tools that can be adapted to unique, individualized workflows rather than impose generic processes. Embracing modern technology allows organizations to break free from the limitations of the one-trick-pony software, decompress administrative workflows, and improve patient throughput.
The good news is that versatile platforms are already making a tangible impact.
The Unsung Heroes of Healthcare
It’s time to recognize the vital role administrative staff play in keeping the healthcare engine running. From patient registration to medical record management, these unsung heroes handle an overwhelming array of tasks. By equipping them with better tools and streamlined workflows, we can unlock their full potential—benefiting staff, patients, and providers alike.
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, we must recognize that true progress isn’t only measured by groundbreaking treatments or cutting-edge technologies. Real innovation lies in confronting the often-overlooked backbone of healthcare: the administrative team. It may not grab headlines, but it is the lifeblood of every successful patient outcome. Behind every lifesaving procedure, every breakthrough moment, there’s an administrative team working tirelessly to make it all possible. It’s time we give them the recognition—and the tools—they deserve.
Sarah Galyon is a Senior Director of Healthcare Solutions at Formstack. She has 17 years of experience in the healthcare industry and formerly worked for a large academic medical center and health system, where she spent over a decade specializing in process improvement and digital transformation in both the clinical and health administrative areas.
