AMN Healthcare Uses Automation to Process Healthcare Workers' Timecards and Key Credentials

AMN Healthcare, working with business partner Genus Technologies, uses Tungsten Automation (formerly Kofax) solutions – Tungsten RPA™, Tungsten TotalAgility®, Tungsten Analytics for TotalAgility, and Tungsten Mobile Capture™ to automatically process healthcare workers’ timecards and key credentials.

Combined, these solutions ensure that their healthcare workers can fill “high needs” positions and receive their pay on time, while also reducing workload for the company’s back-office staff—allowing them to focus on more value-added tasks. 

CHALLENGES

Doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals are the everyday heroes that power the US healthcare system. For medical providers, effectively coordinating the schedules of thousands of these professionals is a complex, time-consuming, and mission-critical activity.

Enter AMN Healthcare: the industry leader in US healthcare staffing. Headquartered in San Diego, California, and with offices across the US, AMN Healthcare operates nationwide to match freelance medical staff to healthcare vacancies, with a special focus on travel nursing.

Jeff Stratton, Senior Project Manager at AMN Healthcare, explained: “We help healthcare professionals find the work they need, whether on a contingent or permanent basis. In fact, a little over half our revenue comes from matching a workforce of around 8,000 travel nurses to 14-week assignments at healthcare facilities throughout the US. We connect these workers with open hospital vacancies, pay them for their labor, and then bill the hospitals for that labor.”

Ensuring that nurses are paid on time is one of the most important and time-intensive activities for AMN Healthcare. Jeff Stratton said: “The hospitals and medical centers at which our nurses work give them time cards for hours completed, which they then file with us for payment. Once we receive those time cards, we check that the amount earned is correct and make sure our nurses receive their pay on time. This step is critical to keeping operations running smoothly and staff feeling looked after, but to do this requires heavy-duty data processing. 

“We estimated that we were processing around 4,000 of these timecards each week, which amounted to 8,000 man-hours annually. Over time, we found that the system we used for checking and processing timecards no longer delivered optimum efficiency—with the system prone to human error and occasionally crashing. Because of these inefficiencies, around 200 timecards would go missing each year. 

“Lost time cards represent a huge risk for us, as we are liable to provide back payments and could even face legal action. To mitigate these risks, we set out to develop a more efficient way of paying our clinicians in full and on time for the vital work they do.”

SOLUTION

AMN Healthcare decided to automate its timecard processing activities using the Tungsten Automation RPA platform alongside TotalAgility, Analytics for TotalAgility, and Mobile Capture, integrated with AMN Healthcare’s in-house application for timecard filing. Working with its business partner, Genus Technologies, AMN Healthcare was able to radically transform this essential business process. 

“Our integrated suite of Tungsten solutions has enabled us to revolutionize our timecard processing systems by making them much easier to use,” said Jeff Stratton. “To do this, we created a mobile app, which allows our nurses to photograph and upload their timecards, select the type of work they’re filing for, and submit a request for payment.

“Submitted timecards then go through our network, where they are processed through our Tungsten system quickly and efficiently. These smart software robots determine which type of work is being billed, and then route it through to the appropriate teams for processing. This approach is far more efficient that our previous system and dramatically reduces the risk of human error.

“We use RPA at the front end of the process to help get our clinicians working in a healthcare delivery system faster. Validating qualifications requires a lot of document verification and processing. We found quick wins with RPA by automating high-volume process steps. Timeliness and accuracy are now maximized, and our support staff can focus on shoring up other process areas.”

However, AMN Healthcare may not have been able to realize these benefits so dramatically without the help of its business partner, Genus Technologies.

“We initially had some difficulty realizing the potential of the Tungsten platform,” said Jeff Stratton. “But once Genus Technologies came on board to help us with the implementation, we were able to complete the project with zero critical production issues. That is nothing short of phenomenal, but it was no surprise to us. Genus Technologies is well known for the professionalism and diligence of its team, and we are proud to have them as our long-term partner for all things Tungsten.”

AMN Healthcare also mobilizes the analytics capabilities delivered by its Tungsten solutions, to drill down into the work that contractors have filed previously, build a clearer picture of their needs, and offer them the most relevant opportunities.

RESULTS

After adopting RPA solutions from Tungsten Automation, AMN Healthcare has significantly reduced the amount of time spent processing contractors’ timecards, while also reducing the risk of error.

“Since adopting Tungsten solutions, we have reduced the time spent processing timecards by up to 68%, cutting the number of man-hours required to complete this task from 8,000 to just 2,600,” said Jeff Stratton. “This frees our staff to focus on more value-add tasks and reduces the need for them to work overtime to file administration, generating a knock-on quality of life improvement for some of the busiest workers in our country.”

"Genus Technologies is well known for the professionalism and diligence of its team, and we are proud to have them as our long-term partner for all things Tungsten Automation."
– Jeff Stratton, Sr. Project Manager

AMN Healthcare has also gained a greater understanding of its clinicians’ data thanks to the Tungsten solution. “The risk of duplicating data is now much lower because the software robots embedded in the Tungsten Automation solutions spot and resolve mistakes automatically,” said Jeff Stratton. “The risk of lost timecards and missed payments is now almost completely eliminated, which is great for our contractors as it ensures they get paid on time. With the Tungsten Automation solution, we can rely on near-zero errors in our data entry and processing, which creates peace of mind both for us and for our contractors.

Jeff Stratton concluded: “We have experienced 100% system uptime since adopting the Tungsten Automation solution, and the response from our internal staff has been very enthusiastic as a result. Thanks to RPA, as well as the top-notch support of Genus Technologies, we can now easily direct our staff to better opportunities, and more efficiently too—helping them maintain a steady record of employment and encouraging them to keep working with us to deliver life-changing healthcare services.”

ACHIEVEMENTS AND BENEFITS

• Increased system uptime by 100%
• Achieved 5,400 man-hours saved
• Virtually eliminated lost timecards and missed payments

SUMMARY

AMN Healthcare, a leader in healthcare staffing, partnered with Genus Technologies to deploy a suite of Tungsten Automation solutions to address the complex challenge of efficiently processing the timecards of their healthcare contractors. 

Faced with the mission-critical task of coordinating thousands of schedules and ensuring timely payments, AMN Healthcare sought to automate its timecard processing and billing system. With the help of Genus, they revolutionized their approach, creating a mobile app that allows healthcare workers to photograph and upload their timecards and streamlining the entire process.

The implementation of Tungsten RPA at the front end significantly expedited qualification validation, reduced processing time, and minimized the risk of human error. This solution not only resulted in a 68% reduction in time spent processing timecards, but also virtually eliminated lost timecards and payment delays overall. 

With 100% system uptime, AMN Healthcare has improved operational efficiency and enhanced job satisfaction of its staff, reinforcing its commitment to delivering vital healthcare services effectively and reliably.