Worcester-based UMass Memorial Medical Center is using "Kate," an AI tool from software company Mednition, to help triage emergency department patients, the Boston Business Journal reported June 5.
The software, implemented in February 2023, is designed to assist UMass nurses in more accurately assigning an acuity level on the Emergency Severity Index, which consequently determines the priority of patients needing medical attention.
During the conventional triage procedure, nurses collect patient data and input it into their medical records. Kate utilizes an algorithm to analyze the newly inputted data, taking into account the patient's health background and accommodating factors that may not have surfaced during the initial health assessment. Kate notifies UMass nurses if a different acuity level is recommended based on this information.
"This AI can do things and notice things that the patient doesn't even notice or tell them," Ken Shanahan MSN, RN, senior director of emergency medicine and behavioral health at UMass, told the publication.
Additionally, Mr. Shanahan said despite ongoing concerns about bias in healthcare AI, Kate is effectively mitigating the influence of implicit bias in the triage process. Particularly for recurrent emergency room visitors or individuals with substance use disorders, Kate offers a more impartial perspective, according to Mr. Shanahan.
Despite this, Mr. Shanahan emphasized that nurses retain ultimate decision-making authority.