Operation automation: how to achieve productivity gains in the healthcare system
Think tank: Re:State
Author(s): Florence Conway; Rosie Beacon
September 17, 2025
This report from UK think tank Re:State explores how to achieve productivity gains in the healthcare system.
As clinical demand grows both in volume and complexity, health systems worldwide are searching for efficiency quick-wins. Automation is one such innovation. From pharmacy to pathology, its potential is transformative, yet often overlooked.
Its benefits are multidimensional. For patients, faster and more accurate results produces a better experience. For clinicians, it streamlines workflows, cuts administrative burdens and improves data continuity. For hospitals, it boosts capacity, reduces overtime costs and enables more services to be delivered with the same – or fewer – resources.
But despite the clear and significant benefits of automation technologies, their adoption across the NHS remains limited. This paper explores how progress can be accelerated rapidly to ensure their adoption becomes the norm rather than the exception. This includes simplifying access to capital investment, streamlining the business case process and strengthening change management support.
