How can the NHS release the millions of hours spent by staff – 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there – which are spent on ‘wasted’ time such as pen-and-paper audits, bureaucracy, or chasing people for information?
Low-code platforms can enable the NHS to democratise innovation by enabling people to build apps with minimal coding experience. Microsoft’s Power Platform also includes capabilities to support Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Virtual Agents (or chatbots), and more. Co-pilot capabilities have further enhanced these tools, enabling the use of Artificial Intelligence to create apps using natural language.

This whitepaper provides examples from a range of NHS trusts who have used low-code platforms to automate and improve processes for everything from HR onboarding and management of Cost Improvement Plans, to improving patient engagement in outpatient care. For example, at Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, RPA was used to reduce a 20-minute physiotherapy referrals process to just 3 minutes, saving 226 days of staff time a year.

The paper provides further guidance around governance, engaging the front-line, reusability across the NHS, and much more.