Surgical outcomes exhibit significant variability, impacting patient care and hospital economics worldwide. However, this variability is often attributed to the lack of comprehensive data to assess and understand outcomes fully. To address this challenge, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City has embraced an innovative AI-powered platform developed by Theator. This article delves into the groundbreaking solution that leverages artificial intelligence to improve surgical data management and enhance patient outcomes.
The Problem - Inherent Variability in Surgical Outcomes
Surgical outcomes can vary not only between different parts of the world but even within the same hospital. These variations directly affect patient care and hospital costs, often leading to complications, readmissions, and prolonged operative times. While hospitals acknowledge the existence of variability, the precise solution has remained elusive. The root cause of this issue is the lack of essential data for comprehensive outcome assessment.
Proposal - The AI-Powered Surgical Intelligence Platform
Recognizing the need for a transformative solution, Dr. Ketan Badani, Vice Chairman of Urology and Robotics Operations at Mount Sinai, partnered with Theator, a health IT company specializing in using AI to address surgical disparities. Theator's AI platform introduces automation to capture minimally invasive and robotic surgical video routinely and automatically, eliminating the need for manual recording. The technology de-identifies and structures the video, cataloging procedural steps, intraoperative events, safety milestones, and procedure complexity.
Integrating Surgical Video with EHRs
To fully comprehend the impact of surgical techniques and tools on patient recovery, the AI platform connects surgical video data with patient outcomes stored in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system. While EHRs contain postoperative notes detailing the procedure, they may suffer from inaccuracies and bias due to retrospective recording. The real-time integration of surgical videos with EHRs ensures unbiased and timely data analysis, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of surgical outcomes.
Showcasing the Technology at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai Hospital embraced Theator's technology and demonstrated its potential during the Society of Urologic Robotic Surgeons (SURS) annual meeting in 2022. The AI-powered Surgical Intelligence Platform enabled real-time transmission of live surgeries to an audience of more than 300 surgical attendees. Annotations such as surgical steps, intraoperative events, and safety milestones were presented alongside the surgical video, showcasing the platform's accuracy and potential for transforming surgical conferences.
Results and Benefits
Mount Sinai's successful implementation of Theator's Surgical Intelligence Platform has led to significant progress in understanding surgical outcomes. The hospital presented an abstract on its use at the American Urology Association annual meeting in 2023, highlighting the platform's potential to revolutionize surgical care. By unlocking vast amounts of untapped surgical data, the AI platform empowers medical professionals to identify trends, patterns, and best practices, ultimately improving patient care.
The Way Forward and Recommendations
Dr. Ketan Badani emphasizes the critical factors hospitals should consider when adopting AI technology for surgical purposes. Privacy and security certifications such as HITRUST and SOC2TypeII are paramount, given the sensitive nature of medical data. Additionally, AI systems must offer clinically relevant, actionable insights without significant delays. As technology continues to evolve, AI-powered solutions like Theator's Surgical Intelligence Platform have the potential to reshape surgical practices worldwide, optimizing patient outcomes and enhancing surgical quality.
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