Automating Primary Health Tasmania

Appian and partner Roboyo are working with Primary Health Tasmania (PHT) to improve health services commissioning using process automation. PHT is one of 31 organisations established under the Australian Government’s Primary Health Networks program.

The government has tasked these organisations with increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of primary health services for patients, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes, as well as improving coordination of care to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. The aim here is to achieve localised strategic outcomes in health services purchasing via changes to the commissioning approach.

Prior to working with Appian and Roboyo, PHT used manual word document and email-based processes for their health service procurement activities. These manual processes were cumbersome, time consuming, and duplicated work. In addition, these emailed documents provided requesters with little visibility of process status or approvers, an organisation-wide view of their procurement activities.

“We tend to be predominantly knowledge workers who are very good at strategy, less so with tactical, implementation activities,” said Scott McKay, General Manager for Business & Finance at Primary Health Tasmania.

“And while we were managing operations and governance well, it was being done manually. We knew the next step was to link up our strategy, tactical and operational activities through the right technology platform so we could fully harness the knowledge and know-how of our people,” he said.

Working with Roboyo, PHT identified Business Process Management (BPM), automation, and data integration as the core technologies needed to empower its teams. The company found all the technologies it needed in the Appian Platform for process automation. Appian delivers unified workflow, RPA, AI, process mining and a unique data fabric on an enterprise-grade low-code platform.

“In transitioning Primary Health Tasmania to Appian, we were able to provide the organisation’s program management, commissioning and procurement teams with organisation-wide digital dashboard analysis and reporting across our project proposal and procurement processes. This ensures alignment so the organisation can track and meet its targets and timelines,” said Manish Tripathy, Head of Delivery at Roboyo.

“Appian is helping give us visibility across our entire organisation,” McKay continued. “It helps us answer questions like, are the health services we are so busy managing through the procurement process on a path to making a difference in terms of the long-term health outcomes of the Tasmanian community?”

“We are proud to support Primary Health Tasmania’s mission to improve the health and well-being of the Tasmanian community,” said Luke Thomas, Area Vice President Asia Pacific & Japan at Appian.

“By transforming its business processes on Appian, Primary Health Tasmania is ensuring it is able to see at a step-by-step level whether the work it is doing is the best pathway to successful delivery of better health outcomes for the people of Tasmania.

Image credit: iStock.com/NicoElNino