Tampa General Launches Data-Driven Clinical Command Center

Tampa General Hospital has launched a centralized clinical command center using AI and predictive analytics to help streamline care delivery and improve patient throughput. In doing so, it joins a growing list of hospitals making big investments along these lines.

One example we shared with you last year comes from 355-bed Flagler Hospital, which expects to save as much as $20 million a year by building pathways for the optimal treatment of common, costly conditions like pneumonia, sepsis and heart attacks.

Another interesting case study comes from Montefiore Health System, which built an AI framework leveraging a data lake, infrastructure upgrades and predictive analytics algorithms. Among other things, its system issues red flags up to 5 days in advance for patients with an increased risk of mortality and identifies patients at a higher risk of prolonged ventilation up to 48 hours before onset.

The new clinical center at TGH, known as CareComm, was developed in partnership with GE Healthcare. Its infrastructure includes 20 AI-driven apps, 32 workstations and video walls with 38 screens.

The 20 AI apps or “tiles,” which were developed by GE Healthcare, process hundreds of messages per minute, apply analytics rules and offer decision support for the CareComm team. Also, individual tiles monitor patient flow, track care delays and spot early warning signs that a patient’s health might be in jeopardy.

The end result is a “Wall of Analytics” which presents data visually. Four of the LCDs are touch screens allowing staff members to manipulate the tiles as need be when sharing information in meetings. The idea is to make insights as accessible as possible and responsive to clinicians’ needs.

The center is staffed by a multi-disciplinary clinical team including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. They’re part of a much larger team managing care at the 1,007-bed academic medical center, which handles not only standard hospital services but also complex areas like trauma and transplants.

CareComm has been open in a temporary facility since December, and since then, has already helped TGH cut average lengths of stay by about half a day. This has already resulted in savings of about $10 million dollars, according to hospital estimates. Since its launch, the hospital has moved CareComm into a new 8,000 square foot headquarters on the hospital’s main campus.

Now that it has better information about patient statuses available, TGH has opened a new Departure Lounge for patients on their way to discharge. Instead of waiting in their hospital room, they can wait in the lounge, which offers comfortable chairs, TVs, Wi-Fi access and free coffee and snacks. Not only does this make patients happy, but it also frees up beds sooner, the hospital says.

All told, this sounds like a pretty sophisticated project. Though it’s not clear what theatrics like a Wall of Analytics brings to the table, the core analytics infrastructure is clearly making a multi-million impact on TGH’s operations. That being said, while it might be hard to tease out, it would be interesting to see what the visual tools add to its performance.

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

   

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