Revolutionizing Healthcare: How AI Accelerates Fax Processing and Streamlines New Patient Onboarding

A new AI system called coordn8 from Penn Medicine is changing how healthcare manages patient intake. By automating fax processing, it’s speeding up the process significantly and freeing up valuable staff time.

In healthcare, faxing may seem old-fashioned, but it remains essential. Many organizations, including the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), handle thousands of faxes daily—between 8,000 and 9,000 at UPHS alone. Coordn8 helps manage this by automatically filing faxed documents into electronic health records. Patients can also consent to share their records digitally, saving time and effort.

Jency Daniel, a lead strategist at Penn Medicine, emphasizes how this system not only saves time but also improves job satisfaction. Staff can focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks, which is a big boost for morale.

Impact on Employee Satisfaction

During a pilot test in 2023, almost half of clinical staff noticed a significant improvement in the patient intake process. Satisfaction jumped from 35% to 60% in just two weeks. This enthusiasm was echoed in staff feelings about the effort required to handle incoming faxes, which also increased from 35% to 60% on a measured scale.

Processing time for faxes went from two minutes to about 40 seconds. With the busy volume of 100,000 faxes every 11 to 12 days, staff are saving roughly 2,300 hours to focus on other important tasks.

Speedy Consent Process

Consent for sharing health information is another area where coordn8 shines. Traditionally, this process could take a week due to paper forms. Digitizing consent (now called eDisclosure) cuts down the wait time by 85%. Patients receive a text with the consent form, allowing staff to start gathering information much sooner. Staff satisfaction in handling this process surged from 41% to 90%.

Expanding the System

Initially, coordn8 began with over 150 fax lines across various departments in UPHS. Now, it’s expanding to outpatient services, processing over 3,000 faxes a day and saving around 8,500 staff hours overall.

Dr. Yevgeniy Gitelman, an associate chief medical information officer at Penn Medicine, suggests that other health systems consider adapting coordn8 to departments with high demand and a willingness to engage. This type of strategic application could lead to greater efficiency and staff satisfaction across different healthcare settings.

For more on this groundbreaking system, check out the detailed study in the NEJM Catalyst here.
For further insights on technology in healthcare, read more from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

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Artificial Intelligence, Catalyst, Health Care, Health Systems, Medicine, Research, Technology