Becker's Hospital Review

19 INNOVATION Why BayCare is putting innovation first in 2025 By Naomi Diaz A s Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System prepares for 2025, CIO Lynnette Clinton said the organization is prioritizing a forward-thinking agenda, with innovation and AI at the forefront. In 2024, Ms. Clinton returned to BayCare Health System to take on the CIO role. She previously served as vice president of applications for the health system's information services department. Ms. Clinton departed last December to serve as senior vice president and CIO of the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where she spent nine months before returning to BayCare. "When I came back, I asked our CEO what the priorities were, and she said innovation," Ms. Clinton told Becker's. "We need to think differently and move forward. I couldn't agree more." A major focus for 2025 is the integration of generative AI to enhance clinical workflows. BayCare is currently piloting AI- powered voice technology for both nurses and physicians, with the ultimate goal of reducing documentation burdens and allowing clinicians to spend more time on patient care. The system is testing Oracle Health's ambient voice technology, designed to integrate directly with its EHR platform. "What we're piloting with Oracle is pretty revolutionary," Ms. Clinton said. "This technology allows physicians to have their patient conversations automatically transcribed and entered into the EHR in real time. It's incredibly promising, but we're refining it to ensure accuracy and alignment with clinical workflows." The pilot is already showing progress, thanks to an iterative approach. "We started with a younger version of Oracle's voice assistant. The feedback from our clinicians was pivotal — they identified where it needed improvement. Within weeks, Oracle rolled out updates, and we're seeing that agility in their development process," Ms. Clinton said. BayCare is also exploring voice technology for nurses to optimize care delivery at the bedside. "We're piloting voice technology for nurses that enables them to input and access patient data without having to leave the bedside," Ms. Clinton said. When it comes to AI, Ms. Clinton said she views the technology as a tool to empower clinicians by minimizing their administrative burden. "Our top priority is supporting clinicians with these tools so they can focus on what they joined this field to do: take care of patients. My best-case scenario is that clinicians never talk about their computer — it's just a seamless tool." n Future-proofing a $2.2B hospital: Why Nebraska Medicine is building smart rooms By Giles Bruce Omaha-based Nebraska Medicine is future-proofing its upcoming $2.2 billion hospital by testing out smart rooms at its current campus. e health system launched a 17-bed "innovation design unit" earlier this year to try out new technologies ahead of the new medical center set to open in around a decade. "e goal for this unit is to ensure that we not build a hospital that's obsolete the day it opens," Scott Raymond, BSN, RN, chief information and innovation officer of Nebraska Medicine, told Becker's. "So, to future-proof that $2 billion-plus investment for 30 to 50 years." e technologies in the unit so far include real-time location services and virtual nursing capabilities. Patients can control their entertainment, room temperature and blinds via iPads, where they can also order food and video chat with loved ones. Each room cost over $2 million. "One of the biggest purposes of this unit is to identify what would become the standard in a future hospital," said Ron Carson, executive director of enterprise applications for Nebraska Medicine. "We're trying to identify the baseline." Mr. Raymond calls it the "universal room." e rooms and floors on the new hospital will be "acuity adaptable," so units can easily be swapped. "We are rigorously testing these different solutions, comparing them and using that information to inform our decisions for future implementation of these products and workflows," said Bethany Lowndes, PhD, scientific director of innovation at Nebraska Medicine. Having the unit gives the health system the "flexibility to adapt" to coming technologies and patient needs, Mr. Raymond noted. Most innovation centers around the country simulate care; Nebraska Medicine's is unique in that it is in an actual hospital inpatient unit. "Trying to do proof of concepts of innovation in a hospital is very difficult because you have to try to take over a unit and affect the workflows," Mr. Raymond said. "So that's a huge differentiation from other labs." Future technology implementations could include ambient listening, biometric monitoring, and robotics for delivery or exoskeletons for

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