Becker's Hospital Review

94 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Ohio hospital uses AI tool to cut readmissions by 20% By Megan Knowles C anton, Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center lowered readmission rates by over 20 per- cent using a cognitive machine solution. The machine solution was developed by healthcare technology company Jvion. The company's cogni- tive machine solution uses artificial intelligence to help providers predict a patient's health risks and how to prevent them. "Over the last 18 months, we have seen a sustained 20 percent drop in readmission rates," said Paul Hiltz, CEO at Mercy Medical Center. "This drop and the improvements in quality that we have realized are attributed to the implementation of Jvion's Cog- nitive Machine and the commitment of our staff to continually improve the patient care experience." The cognitive machine outputs are integrated into Mercy Medical Center's EHR and clinical workflow. Bedside nurses and care coordinators access pa- tient-specific insights on readmission risk, the factors that drive that risk and the interventions that will have the most significant effect on reducing readmissions. These insights are documented by clinicians, who use the cognitive machine's insights to create individual- ized care and discharge plans. The hospital plans to use the cognitive machine to decrease no-show appointments at their ambulato- ry clinics and reduce avoidable admissions. n Younger patients more prone to dislike traditional healthcare, survey finds By Megan Knowles Y ounger consumers, including the Gen Z and millennial generations, are more dissatisfied with the qual- ity of traditional healthcare services than older generations, a survey published by Accenture found. Accenture, a management consulting compa- ny, surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults to evaluate their attitudes toward traditional and nontraditional healthcare service delivery. Traditional services include care received in hospitals, clinics or physicians' offices. Non- traditional services include walk-in clinics, retail clinics and virtual care. e researchers categorized the survey re- spondents in five generations: silent genera- tion (born 1928 to 1945); baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964); Gen Xers (born 1965 to 1980); millennials (born 1981 to 1996); and Gen Z (born 1997 onward). e researchers asked survey participants, "inking about the traditional healthcare services you have used, how satisfied are you with the quality of those services?" Here is the percentage of respondents who said they were "dissatisfied" and "very dissatisfied" with the following aspects of traditional care: 1. Effectiveness of treatment Gen Z: 32 percent Millennials: 12 percent Gen Xers: 5 percent Silent generation: 5 percent Baby boomers: 4 percent 2. Convenience of location or channel Gen Z: 24 percent Millennials: 13 percent Gen Xers: 8 percent Baby boomers: 4 percent Silent generation: 4 percent 3. Transparency about care (what test will be conducted and why) Gen Z: 23 percent Millennials: 13 percent Gen Xers: 9 percent Baby boomers: 9 percent Silent generation: 3 percent 4. Efficient operations (e-billing) Gen Z: 18 percent Millennials: 16 percent Gen Xers: 11 percent Baby boomers: 8 percent Silent generation: 5 percent n Better hospital care cannot prevent most sepsis deaths, study finds By Mackenzie Bean S epsis is the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, but im- proved hospital care alone may not be enough to prevent the deadly condition, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. For the study, researchers reviewed medical records for 568 adults admitted to six academic and community hospitals between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2015. Patients either died in the hospital or were discharged to hospice care. Researchers rated the prevent- ability of each sepsis-related death using a six-point scale. Four study findings: 1. Sepsis was involved in 52.8 percent of hospitalizations and deemed an immediate cause of death in 34.9 percent of cases. 2. The most common underlying causes of death among sepsis patients were solid cancer (21 percent), chronic heart disease (15.3 percent), hematologic cancer (10.3 percent), dementia (9.7 percent) and chronic lung disease (9 percent). 3. Inadequate hospital care, such as delayed antibiotics, was evident in 22.7 percent of the 300 sepsis-associated deaths re- searchers identified. 4. However, only 11 sepsis-associated deaths were identified as "definitely" or "moderately preventable." Researchers labeled another 25 sepsis deaths as "possibly preventable." "Further innovations in the prevention and care of underlying con- ditions may be necessary before a major reduction in sepsis-asso- ciated deaths can be achieved," researchers concluded. n

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