From Paper Letters to an Integrated Digital Workflow: Improving Efficiency, Reliability, and Engagement in Health Guidance

The study addressed replacing paper-based communication with an integrated digital system in Japanese healthcare. The new system used Microsoft Access for data management, robotic process automation (RPA) to automate repetitive tasks, and a web form with QR code for patient digital responses. After implementation, manual processing time per case decreased from approximately 10 minutes to less than 1 minute. No transcription errors were detected during the observation period. Health guidance completion rates improved from 28.3% to 39.2%. The proportion of cases lasting 240 or more days decreased from 13.6% to 8.9%. The system retained human verification and exception handling.