Meditech is one of the largest EHR and health IT companies at HIMSS24 this week. Unsurprisingly, the biggest focus this year is on artificial intelligence, the hottest topic in health information technology.
The company is announcing early adopters of ambient listening integration into Expanse EHR. New features for conversational AI capabilities. Successful use cases from early adopters of Expanse search and Google Health summarization.
To learn more about HIMSS24 news, we spoke with Helen Waters, Executive Vice President and COO of Meditech (HIMSS24 booth 2480, 3760-71, 3760-92).
Q. One of the things you talked about on the show was early adoption of ambient listening integration into the Expanse EHR. Talk to us about these early adopters and the work they’re doing with this form of artificial intelligence.
A. According to a recent Physician Sentiment Survey conducted by Harris Poll, 93% of physicians regularly feel burnt out, with some reporting working more than 15 hours a week outside of normal hours. and 83% indicate that AI could be part of the solution.
We believe that conversational and ambient AI can have a significant impact on reducing documentation time for clinicians, allowing healthcare providers to focus more on their patients. Meditech takes a vendor-neutral approach to ambient listening and is currently working with multiple ambient listening vendors to integrate their solutions into his Expanse EHR.
Suki is the first ambient vendor to join the Meditech Alliance partnership program and is used at two early adopter sites: Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana, and St. Mary’s Healthcare in Amsterdam, New York.
Meditech’s integrated solution is expected to go live at both sites within the next two to three months. Through testing, both customers see great potential for this solution to enhance work-life balance for healthcare providers and improve both patient and provider satisfaction through more meaningful face-to-face interactions. Every day at HIMSS24, we will be demonstrating the integration with Suki at Interoperability Showcase Kiosk #71.
He also works closely on the Expanse and Augmedix integration and the Nuance DAX Copilot solution. Through Meditech’s API integration, a healthcare provider can launch ambient listening solutions directly from within his Expanse EHR. Ambient listening vendors record conversations and automatically generate appropriate clinical visit notes for clinicians to review.
We strongly believe that all AI requires a human element. As such, providers are given the opportunity to review, edit, and approve notes within their ambient listening solution before handing them over to her EHR. You can also change notes using voice, typing, or macros. Once complete, the entire note can be brought into her EHR at Meditech and individual elements (HPI, assessment, physical exam, etc.) can be inserted into the appropriate document fields.
We have great expectations for the use of ambient listening across care settings, including future incorporation into home care and nursing solutions. As ambient listening becomes adopted in more care settings, it is likely that the burden of documentation will be reduced for more care providers.
Q. We’re also discussing new features around conversational AI capabilities, virtual assistants. What is this new feature and how is it designed to assist caregivers?
A. Meditech collaborated with Nuance to expand its virtual assistant solution, allowing providers to use conversational AI to navigate charts and place orders.
Building on our larger AI vision, virtual assistants can also leverage ambient listening documentation workflows to allow physicians to continue the voice experience by searching for relevant medications and labs while ordering. Masu. This creates a fully voice-enabled workflow that reduces friction and burden.
QA Highlights at the show include successful use cases from early adopters of Expanse search and summarization using Google Health. Please elaborate on the success of this early adopter.
A. When we first started implementing Expanse search and summarization powered by Google Health, our goal was to ensure that information was stored in the Expanse EHR, scanned documents, unstructured data, or Meditech’s legacy From data. This was our first foray into the technology of what is possible with large-scale language models and advanced natural language processing.
This goal was quickly realized at Mile Bluff Medical Center in Mauston, Wisconsin. I would like to commend Randy Brandt, Mile Bluff’s project leader, for seriously embracing his role as an early adopter and championing the solution. Under his guidance, the project quickly took off.
Mile Bluff has gone live with the provider multiple times, and the number of pilot users continues to grow, currently exceeding 150 users. Providers were intuitively using the section breakdown to review provider notes within hours of going live. CMO Dr. Angela Gatzkepraman has noticed a dramatic reduction in the 15 minutes she spends organizing problem lists per patient.
Another emergency department physician noted that he used to spend hours a day requesting and reviewing hundreds of pages of patient records, but now he can do it in minutes. In particular, this solution excels at interpreting handwritten notes and converting them into searchable, discrete data.
Additional time savings realized by Mile Bluff include time spent reconciling problem lists, identifying DNR orders, and streamlining infection control chart reviews. The solution is currently used across 19 clinical and non-clinical departments, including obstetrics, infusion and cancer care, infectious disease control, revenue cycle, and diabetes education. Unique use cases are also emerging that were previously not included in the original scope.
For example, the HIM department leverages the solution to review hundreds of pages of scanned documents and submit summaries from other sites. As a result, it saves about 25-40% of staff time per patient. Infection control departments also use the solution to check patient conditions such as sepsis, surgical site infections, and nosocomial infections within minutes. Staff have increased confidence that they are submitting accurate quality measurements.
Mile Bluff is a perfect testament to our enthusiasm for AI and solutions that ease the burden on users. When presented with evidence of time savings and recommendations from colleagues, Mile Bluff staff quickly gravitated toward the search and summarization solution, resulting in widespread adoption across the department.
Expanse search and summaries powered by Google Health are now available at the perfect time. In a recent Harris poll, 94% of physicians agreed that getting the right clinical data at the right time is extremely important. However, 63% said they were overloaded with information and their stress levels were rising.
Search and summarization are having a big impact. Imagine the time savings a doctor could save by reading her 100+ page CCD document and seeing an overview of the most relevant details in minutes. This is the human impact that Expanse search and summarization is having today.
The successful deployment of fine-grained medical search, large-scale language models, and natural language processing with search and summarization is just the beginning. We are currently building additional generative AI products to automatically generate clinical documentation, with an initial focus on hospital progress briefings and nurse handover summaries.
I’m very excited to be speaking at HIMSS24 with Dara Bartels, CEO of Mile Bluff Medical Center, and Aashima Gupta, Global Director of Healthcare Strategy and Solutions at Google Cloud. Randy will also be demonstrating at the booth with Meditech staff and his Google doctor Dr. Morris and his Dr. Clardy on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Q. Lastly, tell us a little bit about your work on genomics, including pharmacogenomics and new integrations with GenomOncology.
A. Several years ago, Meditech introduced Expanse Genomics to the market as the first fully integrated EHR-based solution. This allows clinicians to order genetic tests from their preferred reference laboratory, receive and store genetic results in the patient’s medical record, and view results in a meaningful way. and a viable method.
Meditech’s genomics solutions have made significant advances since their introduction, particularly in the field of pharmacogenomics. We worked with First Databank (FDB) to embed genomic interpretation and guidance directly into the Expanse workflow, enabling clinicians to derive the most effective treatment options based on a patient’s unique genetic profile.
Guidance includes automatic drug-gene interaction checks for over 27 genes and over 400 drugs before ordering. Content is updated weekly in the background, ensuring clinicians always have the most clinically accurate guidance and minimizing maintenance costs for healthcare organizations.
Pharmacogenomics integration can help optimize drug efficacy, save clinicians time investigating drug options, and reduce the risk of side effects and dosing errors. It also improves patient satisfaction by increasing the likelihood that patients receive the most effective drug first.
We will be highlighting this integration in conjunction with FDB on March 12th and March 13th at 11:30 a.m. at Interoperability Showcase Kiosk #71. We also recognize the importance of integration between genomics, oncology, and pathology and have further updated all three of our solutions. Strengthen this integration and ensure the most effective treatment for cancer patients.
By leveraging the richness of discrete genetic data within the system, organizations can also use Meditech’s tools to extract actionable patient cohorts or perform advanced analyzes on patient populations. Masu.
Additionally, by working closely with ONC through the Cancer Moonshot initiative, we are helping to ensure the sharing of unique and critical patient information and cancer research across different health systems, driving advances in cancer treatment. .
Meditech recently enhanced its genomics solution to incorporate evidence-based guidance for matching treatments and clinical trials through an integration with GenomOncology. The solution leverages all harmonized discrete genetic data available in the EHR, regardless of laboratory, problem information, or demographics, and uses APIs to provide clinicians with patient cancer information within the EHR. We directly recommend the best treatments and clinical trials specific to your.
GenomOncology includes a rich set of annotations, ontologies, and curated content from public, accredited, and proprietary sources. In line with NCCN guidelines, we specifically match treatments and trials based on patient demographics, EHR problem data, and individualized genetic data to find the right treatment for patients and whether the treatment is sensitive. You can decide whether
If none of these treatments are effective, clinicians can turn to clinical trials categorized both by tissue or tissue closest to the patient.
Clinicians can also select trials, speak with clinical trial managers, and register for those trials with direct links. Important genetic details are always up-to-date, including interpretations and hotspot information from ClinVar. GenomOncology will be joining us at Interoperability Showcase Kiosk #71 every day from 12:30 pm to discuss matching treatments and clinical trials.
Jackie Rice, vice president and CIO of Frederick Health, will be joining us at our booth on Wednesday, March 13th at 3pm to discuss her experience with pharmacogenomics and GenomOncology.
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