Wisconsin Health System Implements AI-Based Automation to Improve Operations

Wisconsin-based ThedaCare has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) software company Qventus to implement the company’s care operations automation technology across the health system to improve care access, coordination, and delivery.

The Qventus platform is an AI-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution designed to integrate with EHRs to automate operations and command center functions for inpatient, perioperative, and emergency department services.

The platform will be used at ThedaCare to enhance workflow and operational efficiencies, such as supporting patient throughput, operating room scheduling, and automated discharge planning. The press release notes that by automating these processes, health system leadership hopes to ease the burden on frontline care teams, reduce manual processes, and improve clinical decision-making.

Through the deployment of the platform, the health system aims to shorten patient lead times for surgeries and improve transparency in care progression.

The implementation of the platform is part of a broader investment by ThedaCare into care operations automation from earlier this year when the health system contributed $3 million to a $50 million growth investment in Qventus. Through this investment, the company and the health system will collaborate to develop and expand Qventus technology to other US health systems.

ThedaCare joins a growing number of health facilities that have turned to technology to help improve operational flow and care coordination.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Colorado Hospital leadership saw the need for advanced data analytics tools to help them manage patient flow in the intensive care unit. The hospital’s capacity management team deployed a tool to detect when the ICU nears maximum capacity, allowing staff to move stable patients to less-congested areas.

Last week, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) took a similar approach, announcing the implementation of an AI tool to improve patient throughput.

Like many health systems, TGH had relied on the traditional method of intra-hospital patient transportation, in which a dispatcher manually coordinates all runs throughout the hospital. However, this approach requires coordinating staff and patients across the hospital’s campus, which can negatively impact efficiency and care quality.

TGH teamed up with start-up Enroute to streamline the process. The two developed and deployed an AI platform that uses real-time data to create transport assignments based on transporter availability, location, and whether they have the proper equipment, such as a wheelchair or stretcher, with them. The platform can also gather data to enhance response times while managing patient transport.

Tools like these are part of a larger trend related to the use of intelligent automation in healthcare. Such automation has been applied to care coordination, security, and revenue cycle management, but there is also significant potential for its use in boosting patient outreach and closing care gaps, according to a recent HealthITAnalytics interview with Todd Beardman, MD, chief medical information officer, and Kristen Guillaume, chief information officer, at North Kansas City Hospital.