With healthcare technology innovation driven to infuse artificial intelligence into myriad healthcare systems to improve costs, patient outcomes and employee experiences, it's hard to see where the groundswell on generative AI tools in healthcare is going.

"Given the nature of this technology and the significant resources required to make it work, I expect most organizations will need to align with strategic partners," said Brent Lamm, CIO at UNC Health, based in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Lamm recently discussed his work piloting and testing uses of AI in clinical practice and enterprise functions with Epic and Microsoft.

"Ensuring alignment of values is just as important, if not more so, than alignment of technology and architecture," he told Healthcare IT News.

Michael Haas, technology management consulting manager in RSM U.S.’s healthcare industry practice, agrees that proceeding with caution is required even as he shows provider organizations how ChatGPT can boost patient engagement.

"Since this technology is so new, no organization should just adopt it into their everyday practices," he advised readers earlier this month. 

"ChatGPT and other large language models give human-like responses. However, these systems do not process information like humans nor do these systems actually 'know' anything," he said.

LeanTaaS, Carbon Health and Clarify Health this week rolled out what they have been working on to bring their visions for improving healthcare operations. They say their natural language processing tools supercharge problem solving in patient and staffing workflows, reduce clinician burnout, enhance patient-provider relationships and improve costs and outcomes.

LeanTaaS' generative AI autopilot prototype available in beta

With generative AI and predictive analytics, LeanTaaS says its new tool iQueue Autopilot prototype available in beta can do things like help nurses can clear staffing hurdles quickly. 

With the tool embedded in iQueue for Operating Rooms, hospital administrators can ask for real-time recommendations on capacity optimization management or discuss best practices before shifting case volumes. 

In a demo from LeanTaaS, Autopilot can send multiple texts to on-call staff with a nursing manager's request.

The Santa Clara, California-based company calls this approach "Lean Forward." The system can also be used to provide proactive alerts for scheduling and staffing roadblocks as a "Lean Back" approach, according to Monday's announcement.

The machine learning tool can also detect process deviations and then provide alert-based mitigation recommendations for real-time problem solving.

"We have a unique opportunity to leapfrog older technology by harnessing AI to improve patient access, staff and clinician experience, and reduce staff burnout," said Sanjeev Agrawal, LeanTaaS president and chief operating officer.

"For decades, legacy IT systems and standard dashboards have simply admired the patient access, capacity issues and staffing problems hospitals experience." 

"Thanks to the power of predictive and prescriptive analytics – and now generative AI – we can give leaders, frontline staff and clinicians dynamic solutions at their fingertips that proactively solve the biggest challenges facing hospitals today, including broken workflows and crippling staffing shortages." 

iQueue platforms are used at 625 hospitals across 4,600 operating rooms, 12,200 infusion centers and 19,500 inpatient beds.

According to LeanTaaS, it has the largest repository of normalized hospital operational data across more than 175 health systems and multiple data sources – including electronic health records, workforce management and bed management.

Carbon Health launches AI charting for all clinics and providers

In pilot testing, hands-free charting resulted in a 30% increase in patients compared to typical visit volumes – without the added stress of manual charting, according to an announcement from San Fracisco-based Carbon Health. 

"It's tough to imagine my shifts without this technology," said Dr. Caesar Djavaherian, the company's chief clinical innovation officer in the statement.

"Carbon Health’s hands-free charting feature provides a level of detail and accuracy that we could never achieve with manual notes. I'm never going back."

Using GPT-4, providers can press record in the now AI-enabled EHR once a patient consents. The visit is transcribed with AWS Transcribe Medical and combined with other patient information to generate a visit summary "in minutes," Carbon Health says. 

The provider reviews, adjusts and finalizes the auto-generated in the EHR.

"It’s about eye contact over iPads," said Carbon Health CEO Eren Bali. 

"For too long, providers have had to choose between connecting with their patients and taking notes. That will no longer be the case at Carbon Health clinics. We’re unlocking the ability for clinics to meet the needs of the community without trade-offs like burnout or exhaustion," he said.

Clarify Health launches Clara to accelerate actionable insights

A select group of healthcare-delivery organizations with early access to Clara, which recently completed beta testing, will be able to access insights from Clarify's healthcare claims dataset through the tool, the company announced Tuesday.

The San Francisco-based enterprise analytics and value-based payments platform company says the new AI capabilities can transform raw data into valuable insights "with unmatched speed and precision."

Those selected will be able to tailor capabilities to their organization's unique needs.

The company says customers will be able to discover the influenceable behavior changes that matter the most in lowering costs and improving care quality of healthcare in "a fraction of the time it traditionally takes."

"Healthcare delivery organizations constantly strive for cost reductions, efficiencies and improved patient outcomes," said Todd Gottula, Clarify Health cofounder and president. 

"This will enable organizations to uncover opportunities to influence and incentivize higher-value care decisions that directly result in better care and cost for patients," he said.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.