As the healthcare industry embraces technological transformation, leaders agree it is not about having tech, but having the right tech to stand out.
Becker's asked hospital and health system CIOs: What is the most unique technological tool you are currently using in your organization?
Below are their responses, in alphabetical order.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Scott Arnold. Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: I am grateful to all of our technology partners that support our health system, as each has a unique role to fulfill in supporting high-quality care for our patients. I can't name all of them, but GE, Epic, Philips, Stryker, Microsoft, Apple and hundreds of others are critical tech partners for us. Our most unique partner and tool at this moment is the burgeoning relationship with Palantir and the Foundry platform, supported by the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform. We are in the formative stage of getting new and exciting value from our petabytes of data, both structured and unstructured. Our analytics work through using Palantir products has been revolutionary, and I expect it to be game-changing for our health system. Additionally, Palantir will have a presence in our new, state-of-the art innovation center, opening in the Tampas Medical and Research District in 2025.
Tom Consalvo. Vice President and Site CIO at Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): In our neurosurgery department at Lenox Hill Hospital, we are using augmented reality to transform complex 2D imaging, like MRI and CT scans, into 3D visualizations that can be superimposed onto the patient's body in real-time at the bedside. This can improve surgical outcomes for patients and drive efficiencies in cost savings by allowing the surgeon to "rehearse" the surgery prior to actually performing it.
Sunil Dadlani. Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer, and Chief Cybersecurity Officer of Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.): In our healthcare organization, the most unique and impactful technological tool we currently use is an AI-driven predictive analytics platform. This platform integrates with our EHR and other clinical systems to provide real-time insights and actionable intelligence. Key features include predictive modeling, risk stratification, operational efficiency improvements, population health management and real-time alerts for clinicians. The platform has significantly improved patient outcomes by enabling early interventions and personalized care plans, leading to reduced hospital readmissions, shorter hospital stays and better chronic condition management. Additionally, it has enhanced decision-making by providing comprehensive data insights and has driven operational efficiencies by optimizing resource use and reducing wait times.
Marc Gibbs. CIO of Meadville (Pa.) Medical Center: Healthcare organizations are filled with very sophisticated technologies to diagnose and treat patients, which continue to advance in substantial ways. One tool we recently put in place is the Ocuvera system to monitor inpatients at risk for falls. The technology uses a portable device that can be placed in a docking station wall-mounted at the end of the patient bed. The device uses AI-generated vision algorithms to detect patient movements that predict patients attempting to get out of bed without assistance. The device directly notifies the nursing staff via cell phone communication. The system is entirely automated, meaning nurses and monitoring technicians do not need to actively watch the patient. According to Sallie Frisina, patient safety officer and risk manager at Meadville Medical Center, the device has been extremely effective in reducing the number of patient sitters required and patient falls.
Eric Goodwin. Vice President and CIO of Universal Health Services (King of Prussia, Pa.): Our emergency departments are seeing substantial value from autonomous coding. Autonomous medical coding leverages advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to streamline the coding process for medical records. By automatically translating clinical documentation into standardized codes, this technology significantly reduces the manual effort and potential for human error associated with traditional coding methods. Currently, over 40% of emergency department encounters can be fully automated. Overall, this innovative technology supports more effective revenue cycle management and can lead to cost savings, better financial performance and improved patient outcomes. This is not just a redo of older "computer assisted coding" but rather a unique, fully automated process that requires no human engagement. Planning is underway for expansion to other service areas this year.
Jamie Nelson. Senior Vice President and CIO of Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City): As the national leader in musculoskeletal medicine, HSS has many innovative and unique technologies in place as we use technology to advance care. From my perspective, a favorite is our Sectra Digital Pathology solution. HSS was the first hospital in the United States to have successfully integrated a high-resolution digital scanner [Leica] with the pathology laboratory information system [Epic/Beaker] and the enterprisewide PACS [Sectra] in a way that allows pathologists to use digital images for primary diagnosis. This has benefited our clinicians, patients and researchers by increasing efficiency through digitization. It has streamlined processes from primary diagnosis to digital sign-out, improved image preservation, enhanced clinical outcomes by correlating radiology and pathology images, enabled consults and interpretations of digital images from other institutions, and promoted research and collaboration across the institution.
Donna Roach. CIO of University of Utah Health (Salt Lake City): One of the most unique technological tools we've recently piloted at University of Utah Health is an ambient listening system, integrated with our EHR. For the past six months, we've been conducting a pilot in the ambulatory care space, exploring how this innovative tool can assist our physicians with clinical documentation. The system uses advanced speech recognition and natural language processing to capture and transcribe the physician-patient conversation in real-time. This transcription is then integrated into the patient's EHR, significantly reducing the time physicians spend on documentation. It not only captures the clinical visit but also creates structured summaries of patient conversations, enabling providers to be more present and attentive. Our goal is to expand the use of this technology, ensuring that our healthcare providers have the best tools at their disposal to deliver exceptional care to our patients.
Barry Ryle. CIO of Oswego (N.Y.) Health: I am particularly proud of two unique tools in our organization. The first is the da Vinci surgical robot, which enables our surgeons to perform complex, minimally invasive procedures with incredible precision and leads to better patient outcomes. The second is an in-house Meditech downtime solution that ensures clinical staff has access to critical patient information without interruption. This solution showcases my team's innovative skills, while enhancing organizational resiliency and staff satisfaction.
Muhammad Siddiqui. Vice President and CIO of Reid Health (Richmond, Ind.): One of the most unique technological tools we're currently using is Abridge AI, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence platform that's revolutionizing the way we deliver patient care. We've seen significant benefits since implementing Abridge AI, including improved clinical documentation accuracy, reduced clinician burnout and enhanced patient satisfaction. It's been a key component of our digital transformation strategy, and we're excited to continue leveraging its capabilities to drive innovation and excellence in patient care.
Randy Yates. Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston): At Memorial Hermann Health System, we use Ordr, a platform used to discover and secure every connected device. The devices range from servers, workstations and PCs to internet of things, internet of medical things and operational technology. Ordr uses their discovery, device content and context capabilities in conjunction with security platform integrations to deliver unique capabilities that were not previously available. In addition, Ordr has clinical engineering value in that it has a vast database of medical device profiles with a keen understanding of those device protocols. This capability delivers not only a biomedical device identification, but the ability to track utilization of devices. The feature is what led our clinical engineering department to evaluate the product and subsequently partner with our information security team to make a business case for acquiring the technology for both departments. Our use cases are: discovering and classifying every connected asset on the network, identifying vulnerabilities and threats, optimizing operations and use of biomedical equipment with device utilization insights, dynamic segmentation integration with our firewalls and security access control features.