GE Healthcare helps Tampa General Hospital launch CareComm
Health sector consultancy GE Healthcare Partners supported Tampa General Hospital with the launch of its high-tech clinical command center – which uses AI and predictive analytics to better coordinate patient care and lower costs.
The future of health is one shaped by advanced digital technology which is aimed at preventive healthcare and unlocked by effective predictive analytics. It is also a future where patient care is extremely personalized, data is more widely shared and leveraged, and patients take part in their own healthcare journey every day. Finally, because of the greater emphasis on diagnostics and preventive measures, it is a future where cost-per-patient is lowered – as opposed to the current system of later and more costly treatment.
Consultancies like GE Healthcare are helping hospitals digitally transform to realize efficiency gains and better patient outcomes, meeting the future of healthcare head-on. The firm recently supported Tampa General Hospital with the launch of its CareComm clinical command center, which officially opened in August. The center predicts the needs of patients and team members before they arise, anticipating roadblocks in the care process so that rooms, doctors, and equipment are available as soon as possible.
Managing the flow of patients at the 1,007-bed academic medical center is a complex task, but GE Healthcare’s AI-powered tech helps optimize the process. “CareComm helps us ensure that each patient gets the best possible care right when they need it,” said Dr. Pete Chang, vice president of Care Transitions. “Because our CareComm team is focusing on smoothing each patient’s journey through the hospital, our clinical team at the bedside has more time to spend with the patient.”
The command center uses 20 artificial intelligence apps or “tiles” to process hundreds of messages a minute, apply analytics, and provide decision support for staff. Tiles monitor patient flow, track delays, and spot early warning signs of declining health.
The center also includes 38 large LCD screens to easily transmit live data, with four touch screens to manipulate tiles during meetings.
The command center aims to get patients connected with healthcare professionals at the soonest possible time to improve outcomes. “We all know the earlier you treat someone, the better the outcome is, generally speaking,” Chang said.
The temporary CareComm facility, which opened in December, was able to reduce patient length-of-stay by about half a day. Reducing such inefficiencies saved approximately $10 million.
The permanent CareComm center is now located in a new 8,000 square-foot headquarters on Tampa General Hospital’s main campus.
“Tampa General’s focus on team, patients and innovation was apparent from our first interaction,” said Jeff Terry, CEO of clinical command centers for GE Healthcare. ”It’s a terrific environment. The CareComm program includes a digital twin of TGH and a range of process improvement projects... the results are already impressive, and there’s so much innovation still ahead.”
GE Healthcare also recently supported the launch of a similar "mission control" command center at AdventHealth in the Orlando area. The 12,000-square-foot high-tech center is staffed 24/7 by a team of more than 50 nurses, EMS and flight dispatchers – reducing wait times and expediting care.
