Ask any claims team what slows them down, and you'll hear the same answers: Too many claims. Not enough staff. Complex cases. Waiting on records. All true. But there's a deeper constraint underneath: time spent extracting data from medical records.
The hidden time sink
On average, EHRs contain 222 pages and APSs average 152 pages, often filled with duplicate information and excessive documentation (DigitalOwl). Multiply that across hundreds of claims. Each one requires someone to read, extract, and organize before any decision can happen.
Claims that once took days or weeks to process can now be handled in hours (Physicianseducate) — but only if you remove the extraction bottleneck.
Where time actually goes
| Task | Manual Time | With AI |
|---|---|---|
| Reading records | 3-4 hours | 0 |
| Extracting key data | 1-2 hours | 0 |
| Organizing chronologically | 30-60 min | 0 |
| Reviewing AI output | 0 | 20-30 min |
| Verification & refinement | 0 | 15-20 min |
| Clinical analysis & decision | 30-60 min | 60-90 min |
| Total | 5-7.5 hours | 1.5-2.5 hours |
Same claim. Same quality. 60-70% less time. A health-claims firm cut review time by approximately 40% and achieved approximately 99.5% accuracy by automating document processing (Mosmedicalrecordreview).
The compound effect of faster processing
When each claim takes 60-70% less time:
- Backlogs clear faster
- Turnaround times improve
- Capacity increases without hiring
- Staff burnout decreases
- Quality improves (more time for analysis, less rushing)
For every 1,000 claims, AI-powered review can help yield up to a 13:1 return on investment (Verisk).
How OctopusLM removes the bottleneck
We built OctopusLM specifically for the complexity of Canadian workers' compensation and disability claims.
- Process 500+ page files in under an hour
- Extract diagnoses, treatments, and causation factors
- Page-level citations for quick verification
- Structured outputs ready for IME reports
- PIPEDA compliant. Enterprise-grade security.
Sources:
DigitalOwl EHR/APS Research
Business Insider AI Claims Processing Analysis
Verisk ROI Calculator Research