Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing many industries, but Fraser Health says the digital tool will improve patient care at Burnaby Hospital.
The regional health authority said, in a news release, it recently partnered with Deloitte Canada to make scheduling tools that leverage AI and machine-learning solutions to accurately forecast waves in demand through a $1.5-million Scalre AI award.
Two of three models will leverage patient analytics from different electronic medical records to forecast volume demands that come to emergency rooms and medicine departments at Burnaby Hospital, as well as Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, and help leadership in pre-determining staffing requirements.
The other will take forecasted patient data and match it with business rules like patient-physical ratios and make a baseline schedule with advanced analytic capabilities to create numerous scheduling scenarios.
“Eventually, we will see the tool becoming more sophisticated and able to integrate factors such as respiratory and influenza season, outbreaks, air quality levels, and other local and regional events like concerts and festivals to more accurately predict how many patients will need care on any given day and match that demand with physician coverage," Sheazin Premji, Fraser Health Centre for Advanced Analytics, Data Science and Innovation Executive Director, said in a news release.
📈 Read more about how we’re leveraging AI to optimize care: https://t.co/paJ8ml6vyo.#FHinnovation #HealthCareTech
— Fraser Health (@Fraserhealth) September 13, 2024
In Burnaby specifically, an AI-driven surge prediction model will be used to help make proactive decisions about calling in more staff based on forecasted physician workload.
The tool will predict the number of patients requiring hospital care over seven days. It will proactively adjust staffing levels in the event of a surge.
During validation testing, Fraser Health says the model accurately predicted 91 per cent of surges for the next day and 81 per cent accuracy up to seven days in advance.
“Enhancing the patient experience and improving access to care is at the heart of digital transformation in Fraser Health,” Jennifer MacGregor, Vice President of Digital Patient and Provide Experience, added.
“We are excited to be co-developing these AI tools. These partnerships are essential to drive innovation in our health system to solve some of our most challenging problems.”
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