New Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Peter’s University Hospital has cut emergency department visits among high-risk patients by 7% through the use of AI.
Here are four things to know, according to a July 8 news release:
1. The 478-bed teaching hospital adopted an AI application from Lightbeam Health Solutions that predicts which patients are at risk of avoidable ED visits over the next 90 days.
2. The AI tool evaluates patients’ social determinants of health and social vulnerability, leading to more early interventions and better care coordination.
3. After implementing the solution, ED visits among high-risk patients fell from 16.7% to 9.5%.
4. “Through partnerships and grant funding, we had existing programs to support food accessibility and transportation but not a way to efficiently identify which patients needed them,” stated Ishani Ved, director of transformational population health and outcomes at New Brunswick-based Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. “Lightbeam AI identified patients with food and transportation needs, empowering our clinical team to make efficient referrals to existing programs, ultimately enabling us to more effectively serve a growing and predominantly vulnerable population.”
