Intelligent Automation: smarter care with safe digital support

Berkshire Healthcare uses Intelligent Automation to reduce avoidable administration, improve data quality and support better use of staff time.

Our automations are sometimes described as robots, but they are software-based digital workers. They follow agreed rules, complete repeatable tasks and help services manage routine work more consistently.

Automation does not replace clinical judgement. It supports staff by handling administrative work where the process is clear, the risks are understood and the benefits can be evidenced.

What Intelligent Automation helps with

Our programme supports clinical and corporate services with work such as:

• referral processing
• data checking
• record updates
• document handling
• notifications
• routine administration
• high-volume repeatable processes

The programme uses Microsoft Power Platform and related Microsoft tools, including Power Automate, Power Apps, Dataverse and Power Pages.

Our current direction

The programme has moved beyond proof of concept and is now an established digital productivity service. The current focus is on larger pathway improvements, better data quality, resilience, clear benefits evidence and Smart Referrals as a major priority. We are also preparing for a controlled move towards agentic development. AI-assisted tools may help design, draft, document, test and improve automations, but people remain accountable and governance controls release.

Our main priorities are:

• improving referral and intake processes through Smart Referrals;
• reducing avoidable administration across high-volume pathways;
• improving data quality and consistency;
• strengthening reliability by moving away from brittle user-interface automation to API integration where available;
• evidencing benefits clearly;
• improving resilience, support and break/fix arrangements;
• preparing the programme for safe, governed agentic development.

How we keep automation safe

Before an automation goes live, we consider the process, data, risks, service ownership, testing, clinical safety where required, information governance and support arrangements. Live automations have clear ownership, monitoring, exception handling and a route for issues or changes.