Predictive analytics used by care coordinators has helped prevent hospital readmissions at Corewell Health, which is dually headquartered in Grand Rapids and Southfield, Mich., a new study found.
During the study, the care coordination team at Spectrum Health, which is now part of Corewell Health, employed artificial intelligence to identify patients at the greatest risk for readmission and supported them with clinical challenges, behavioral health and social determinants of health.
"By working in advance of recovery barriers and focusing on whole-person needs, real rates of readmission can be reduced, even for people at high risk for return to acute care," said study co-author Alejandro Quiroga Chand, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer of ambulatory care and population health for Corewell Health West, in a Feb. 2 health system news release.
The study, published in December in NEJM Catalyst, took place over 20 months in 2021 and 2022 and kept 200 patients from being readmitted, saving the health system an estimated $5 million. Corewell Health intends to expand the program this year from 15 to 45 primary care offices for patients enrolled in its Priority Health plan.