The healthcare industry is in the midst of an Automation revolution. A sudden swarm of attention has been thrust on the sector renowned for increasing trial efficiencies due to the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a burgeoning technology and branch of Automation, AI goes beyond traditional, rule-based automation to simulate human intelligence. Its potential impact on trial efficiencies and the quality of insights is raising eyebrows.In 2024, both big pharma and a growing sector of biotech companies are waking up to Automation’s promise. As a result, the pressure to adopt, integrate and proactively get ahead of this incoming wave of efficiency is altering the way companies approach their trials and outsourcing strategies.
The challenge many companies now face is how they can get on the road to automation. Confusion around the differences between AI and Automation remain, while buzz words like Open-source, RWE, Cloud-SCE, and Metadata have left companies without a clear plan or trajectory for successfully adopting Automation.
What does the road to automation look like?
Adopting Automation within a single trial is far different to adopting and integrating Automation into a company for use across multiple trials both present and future. Automation can be adopted into a study on a case by case basis with relative ease – be it Proof of Concepts using a cloud-based API (check out our work with Domino) or workflow automation and tool development using R. However, many companies lack one or both of the following capabilities:
- Where to start.
- How to upscale.
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The road to automation wasn’t either. Having a fully automated study isn’t as simple as flicking a switch and having a bot do all the work. The road to Automation success has two important components to it – a starting line and a roadmap. The solution to conquering these two components starts with what we aptly call an “Automation health check”.
The Automation Health Check
As with any health check in our industry, an initial assessment of the vitals needs to take place. In this case, it’s understanding what level of automation is currently in place across all studies – i.e. what level of automation maturity the company is at currently. An assessment looks at what we believe are the core ingredients for automations success, covering people, processes, technology and infrastructure. It also goes a step further by assessing the company’s current value in automation and its vision statement around automation.
Once the health check is complete, we can gauge the level of maturity and can see where the starting line is. The next step is carving out the roadmap so we can understand what automation success looks like to you.
The opportunity matrix
Once an assessment has been made, opportunities for improvements are laid out on a matrix that compares a new automation process or technology’s impact against its feasibility. From here we can develop a timeline and develop a strategy that will prioritize and schedule changes in a way that suits the client.Regardless of automation maturity, the road to automation needs to start with a vision statement on automation itself. Adopting and integrating automation cannot rest on the shoulders of one small technical team. An ethos and culture that embraces automation is essential. This vision starts at the top of the organisation. Creating a vision for the future of automation helps streamline company-wide adoption, increasing employee engagement, innovation and harmonization between teams.Integrating an end-to-end automated solution can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months, depending on the current state of automation maturity. However, the road to success isn’t always a straight line. Uncontrollable factors such as budget constraints or poor data quality can put a sudden bump in the road. Staying flexible is vital. Without flexibility, changes become reliant on one another like a house of cards, adding unnecessary risk. The feasibility/impact matrix tackles this concern by segmenting opportunities efficiently, ensuring updates are dealt with in a way that suits the company’s long term business strategy.
Ensuring long term Automation success
A high speed chase on the road to Automation carries risks and pitfalls that can slow down or even grind studies to a halt. For long term success, automation needs to be embraced from the top-down, ensuring processes and technologies are updated or even spearheaded in new, innovative ways long into the future. A core feature of this consistency and innovation lies in skills and training. Comprehensive training programmes are a key component of this journey, and are scaled based on automation maturity. Without investment in training and talent, automation as a function is certain to fall short.A strategic and flexible approach to automation, guided by a specialist, will ensure a smooth transition into the world of automation. And it all starts with a simple automation health check.Interested in learning more about Veramed’s Automation Health Check? Register for our upcoming webinar XXX, hosted by Stuart Malcolm, our Head of Standards, Efficiency and Automation.
