AI system reduces hospital deaths
Tech breakthrough helps identify patients at high risk of deteriorating health.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been credited with saving the lives of patients in a Canadian hospital by assessing their progress and likelihood of getting sicker.
A trial of an AI-based early warning system called CHARTwatch at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto involved more than 20,000 patients aged between 55 and 80.
Researchers compared mortality results for a hospital unit using the system before and after the AI system was implemented, and against the outcomes in units not using the system.
The news-medical.net website reported that “regular communications helped reduce deaths as CHARTWatch engaged clinicians with real-time alerts, twice-daily emails to nursing teams, and daily emails to the palliative care team.
“The team also created a care pathway for high-risk patients with increased monitoring by nurses, enhanced communication between nurses and physicians, and prompts to encourage physicians to reassess patients.”
Dr Amol Verma, lead author of the study and a clinician-scientist at St Michael’s said, “As AI tools are increasingly being used in medicine, it is important that they are evaluated carefully to ensure that they are safe and effective.
“Our findings suggest that AI-based early warning systems are promising for reducing unexpected deaths in hospitals.
“Ultimately, this study shows how AI systems can support nurses and doctors in providing high-quality care.”
The developers are making the CHARTwatch system available for further testing with the hope that it can be rolled out to other hospitals in Canada and beyond.
Dr Muhammad Mamdani, vice president of data science and advanced analytics at Unity Health Toronto, added, “We hope other institutions can learn from and improve upon Unity Health Toronto’s experiences to benefit the patients they serve.
“Unity Health Toronto is a collaborative leader already helping to spread our AI tools via innovative partnerships with more to come.”
Related reading: Canadian Medical Association Journal
