Robotic process automation (RPA) is technology that automates repetitive, routine, and rule-based human tasks. It uses rule-based software robots (“bots”) on a system’s server to recognize defined inputs and achieve the desired output.

Using RPA to support revenue cycle and administrative processes is not a new concept in healthcare. However, health systems are now increasingly deploying automation to support their nursing workforce. By doing so, they aim to streamline workflows, improve productivity, and off-load below-competency work for nurses.

Health systems must reconfigure the nursing workload. Today, an overwhelming amount of documentation and administrative burden is placed on nurses, taking time away from patients who require increasingly complex care. As a result, acute care RNs continue to shift toward other sites of care that offer more flexibility, better work-life balance, and improved workloads.¹ RPA can help off-load tedious administrative tasks. By doing so, nurses can engage in more fulfilling patient care duties — potentially reducing burnout, increasing job satisfaction, and protecting the sustainability of the acute care workforce.

RPA cannot replace bedside nurses. While widely applicable across different types of workflows, RPA can only overtake relatively straightforward, high-volume tasks that do not require human logic, like automatically updating patient information in electronic medical records. RPA cannot off-load duties that require critical thinking like hands-on care, empathetic patient communication, patient advocacy, or individual care planning.