How to Built a Chrome Extension for Healthcare Workflow Automation

Healthcare workflow automation is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern medicine. With the global healthcare automation market projected to reach USD 90.88 billion by 2032, automation has become indispensable. In the high-stakes world of healthcare, every minute counts. Yet clinicians remain burdened by non-clinical tasks—updating patient records, managing appointments, and navigating complex prescribing workflows across multiple digital platforms.

At The Brihaspati Infotech, we tackled this challenge head-on by developing a tailor-made AI automation solution for a healthcare provider. Using the power of custom Chrome extensions, we crafted a seamless, browser-native tool that automates repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time for clinicians to focus on what matters most—patient care.

In this blog, we’ll take you through how our expertise in both AI automation and Chrome extension development helped optimize clinical workflows. If you’re looking to enhance your platform with scalable, secure automation solutions, hire Chrome extension developers who can transform your workflow management and boost productivity.

Healthcare Workflow Automation: Understanding the Fundamentals

What is Healthcare Workflow Automation?

Healthcare workflow automation refers to the use of technology to streamline and automate repetitive, rule-based tasks within clinical and administrative workflows. These tasks can include appointment scheduling, patient intake, documentation, billing, and prescription management. 

By automating these processes, healthcare providers can reduce manual effort, minimize errors, and improve operational efficiency.

Advantages of Automation in Healthcare

Healthcare workflow automation provides numerous benefits for both healthcare providers and patients.

Key advantages include:

• Reduced Administrative Burden: Automation minimizes the time clinicians spend on paperwork and reduces the risk of human error in tasks like medication administration and documentation.
• Faster Processes: From admissions to discharges, automation accelerates routine workflows, improving patient throughput and reducing wait times.
• Cost Savings: The U.S. healthcare industry has achieved over $122 billion in cost savings through automation.
• Enhanced Patient Experience: Automation improves communication, reduces delays, and increases transparency, leading to higher patient satisfaction.
• Better Staff Morale: By reducing repetitive tasks, automation helps prevent burnout and improves job satisfaction among healthcare workers.

Chrome Extensions Development for Healthcare Workflow Automation: Our Case Study

At The Brihaspati Infotech, we partnered with a telemedicine provider struggling to maintain efficiency. Clinicians spent hours daily on mundane activities like clicking through patient forms, typing routine chart notes, and switching between multiple tabs to manage appointments and prescribing workflows. These tasks were draining hours each day, reducing focus on critical clinical decisions, and limiting providers to handling only a fraction of potential cases. The client sought a tailored solution to streamline these processes without compromising data security or workflow control.

The goal was clear: introduce a layer of intelligent automation that could handle routine interactions seamlessly, allowing doctors to concentrate on patient outcomes. 

To meet this need, we engineered a custom Chrome extension tailored to the platform’s unique workflow, automating tedious browser-based actions and restoring time to the heart of healthcare.

Here’s how we crafted a robust, browser-native tool tailored to real-world clinical needs:

1. Creating Keyboard-Based Automation Triggers

We created healthcare workflow automation that activates only through deliberate user actions—never passively or automatically—ensuring clinicians retain full authority at every stage.

How We Implemented:

• Defined SHIFT + CLICK  as the universal trigger to launch background automation, allowing users to initiate tasks only when ready.
• Mapped automation logic to specific UI elements—such as the “Prescribe” and “Submit” buttons—without interfering with the platform’s native behavior.
• Used ESC key as a quick-stop for any active automation, giving clinicians full control.

Using keyboard shortcuts and browser-native scripting, we built a responsive, intuitive clinical workflow automation tool that seamlessly integrates into existing healthcare routines.

2. Automating Multi-Tab Workflows in the Background

Clinicians often work with 2–3 tabs open on their telemedicine platform. To match this workflow, we built background automation that runs seamlessly across tabs, enabling efficient, real-time workflow automation for healthcare without disrupting clinical focus.

How We Implemented:

• Automatically detected all open tabs associated with the healthcare platform.
• Upon a keyboard trigger, the extension switched to the next tab, executed pre-defined tasks (e.g., submitting forms, updating notes), and returned control to the user.
• Leveraged Chrome’s Tabs and Runtime Messaging APIs to coordinate actions across Windows while preserving workflow state and ensuring consistency.

This multi-tab logic became a cornerstone of our clinical workflow automation software, enabling doctors to resolve cases faster while maintaining full control over their workspace.

3. Context-Aware Alerts with AI-Powered Logic

To prevent task overlap between physicians, our AI automation agency implemented a real-time system that checks if another doctor is already viewing a patient case.

How We Implemented:

• Developed a high-frequency DOM polling mechanism (running 60 times per second) to monitor case ownership changes with near-instant responsiveness.
• Used AI-inspired logic to evaluate page context and trigger alerts only when necessary.
• Displayed a dynamic, in-page notification—“Viewed by another doctor”—to help clinicians avoid overlapping actions and maintain workflow integrity.

This feature added a layer of smart coordination to our clinical workflow automation software, ensuring that automation supports—not disrupts—collaborative care environments.

4. Usage Tracking and Fair Billing Logic

To ensure transparency and align pricing with real value, we implemented a usage-based billing system, designed specifically for healthcare workflow automation. The goal was simple: charge only when automation delivers measurable results.

How We Implemented:

• Developed an intuitive automation counter UI that displays the number of resolved cases over the past 10 days, helping users track their efficiency.
• Stored all usage data locally using Chrome.storage.local to maintain user privacy and avoid transmitting sensitive information.
• Introduced a fair, pay-per-use model: $0.45 per successfully automated case. If no automation is used, there’s no charge—no subscriptions or hidden fees.

Together, these focused engineering decisions resulted in a high-impact, browser-native automation tool that fits seamlessly into clinical routines, transforming repetitive workflows into streamlined actions and empowering healthcare providers to serve significantly more patients with less effort.

Architecture and Advanced Features of a Healthcare Automation Extension

After outlining our development approach, let’s take a closer look under the hood. This section explores the architecture and advanced features that powered our healthcare automation extension, designed for speed, control, and seamless integration into clinical workflows.

Architecture and Core Components

With the foundation laid, we focused on building a modular architecture that could support reliable, real-time automation within the constraints of a browser environment. Here’s how we structured the extension to support seamless automation within a clinical workflow environment:

Chrome Extension Structure

• Built on Manifest V3, leveraging modern Chrome extension architecture for performance and security.
• Background script (background.js) handles automation logic, tab management, and workflow orchestration.
• Content script (content.js) interacts directly with the telemedicine platform’s DOM to simulate user actions.
• Popup UI provides a lightweight interface for displaying the automation counter and giving users control over settings.

Web Page Interaction

• Simulated repetitive actions such as button clicks, text input, and form submissions using content.js.
• Handled dynamic content (e.g., AJAX-loaded elements) with MutationObservers to ensure automation remains stable and responsive across changing page states.

Workflow Orchestration

• Tab switching and task sequencing are managed through background.js, enabling smooth multi-tab automation.
• Chrome Messaging APIs are used for real-time communication between background scripts, content scripts, and the popup UI.

Advanced Features and Monetization Strategies

With the core architecture in place, we focused on features that prioritized control, safety, and transparency, making the extension practical for real-world clinical automation workflows.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Full Control

• Users activate automation using SHIFT + CLICK and can stop it instantly with the ESC key.
• Automation only begins when explicitly triggered by the user.

Case Ownership Detection

• Real-time detection of case ownership conflicts (up to 60 checks per second)
• An immediate visual alert when another doctor is viewing the same case

Automation Tracking and Pay-Per-Use Billing

• Tracks the number of cases completed using automation over the last 10 days.
• Follows a pay-as-you-use model: $0.45 per automated case, with no subscriptions or hidden fees.

With these features seamlessly integrated, the extension redefines efficiency for physicians. Tasks that once constrained doctors to handle roughly 10 patient cases daily have been revolutionized, enabling them to manage over 100 cases each day with ease. This dramatic leap in productivity is powered by workflow automation for healthcare.

Ready to scale your operations? Get in touch with our AI Automation Agency to explore tailored automation solutions for your platform.

Navigating Implementation Challenges in Workflow Automation for Healthcare

Implementing workflow automation in a clinical environment comes with its own set of unique technical and operational hurdles, from working without direct platform access to ensuring stable multi-tab behavior in real-time scenarios. Here’s how we tackled the most critical challenges in building a seamless and safe healthcare workflow automation experience:

1. Building Without Direct Platform Access

• The client was unable to provide platform credentials or direct access to their telemedicine system due to strict data privacy protocols in the U.S. healthcare industry.
• We relied entirely on shared screenshots, screen recordings, and user walkthroughs to map the UI structure and user flow. Using this, we rebuilt key screens locally in a mock environment to develop and safely test the automation logic without platform integration.

2. Managing Reliable Automation Across Dynamic Tabs

• Doctors worked across multiple open tabs on the platform, each requiring task execution based on individual context. Ensuring accurate tab targeting and execution was a complex challenge.
• We engineered a background logic system that detects relevant tabs, switches between them seamlessly, and performs pre-configured actions in the background. Meanwhile, the user continues working on their active tab, maintaining complete control.

3. Preventing Task Conflicts and Ensuring User Safety

• With multiple doctors potentially working on the same case, the risk of duplication or accidental override was significant.
• We developed a high-frequency DOM check that runs 60 times per second to detect if a case is already opened by another doctor. If a conflict is detected, a warning message appears in real-time, helping users avoid overlap and maintain clinical accuracy.

Custom Chrome extensions are transforming how healthcare platforms operate behind the scenes. If you’re building complex workflows for healthcare that demand speed, precision, and security, Hire Chrome Extension Developers and bring scalable automation to your product.

Frequently Asked Questions

Empowering Healthcare Efficiency with Workflow Automation

Integrating AI-powered workflow automation through a custom Chrome extension is a game-changer for healthcare providers. It streamlines repetitive tasks, enhances productivity, and allows clinicians to focus on what truly matters—patient care.

At The Brihaspati Infotech, we specialize in creating tailored workflow automation solutions that integrate seamlessly with healthcare platforms, ensuring smooth, efficient, and secure operations.

Ready to optimize your healthcare system with advanced automation? Contact us to explore customized solutions designed to transform your clinical operations and boost efficiency.