Harnessing AI for Smarter Patient Flow

The following is a guest article by Jonathan Shoemaker, CEO at ABOUT Healthcare

As hospitals and health systems face increasing pressure from capacity constraints, many are being forced to turn away patients while struggling to meet revenue and profitability goals. Inefficient patient flow management not only reduces revenue opportunities but also leads to delays in care and adds unnecessary costs. Addressing these issues requires a transformation in how healthcare organizations manage patient movement through the acute care journey – this is where intelligent and AI-enabled technology comes into play.

The Role of AI in Patient Flow Management

Healthcare is changing, and traditional methods of managing patient flow and throughput are no longer sufficient. Hospitals often rely on siloed electronic health records (EHRs) and manual processes that lack the necessary insights to optimize patient flow. AI-enabled and intelligent platforms are emerging as a solution to this challenge, allowing hospitals and health systems to harness the power of AI to streamline patient movement, improve care delivery, and reduce operational inefficiencies.

AI-enhanced platforms can provide real-time decision support, predictive analytics, and actionable insights that help hospitals forecast and manage patient flow more effectively. These technologies not only offer a clearer view of the patient journey but also help address bottlenecks, predict discharge timelines, and optimize the use of resources such as available beds and staff.

Real-Time Decision Support Through AI

Earlier this year, ABOUT Healthcare strengthened its technology by acquiring Edgility, an AI-driven patient progression platform. This acquisition integrated AI-based decision support and real-time monitoring capabilities into the company’s solutions, providing hospitals with a comprehensive tool to manage patient throughput across the entire acute care journey.

The combination of AI and actionable insights has been well-received by healthcare organizations, with many praising the technology’s ability to predict discharge goals earlier, even at the time of admission. For hospitals and health systems, having this level of foresight is crucial for managing capacity challenges, reducing length of stay, and improving overall patient outcomes.

Enhancing Capacity Management

A recent KLAS Research report from May 2024 highlights the value of AI-enabled platforms for improving patient throughput. According to one respondent, the technology extracts data from their EHR to assist in patient movement, capacity management, and demand forecasting. Staff use the system to make timely decisions on admissions and discharges, enabling more efficient patient flow throughout the organization.

KLAS Research also noted that all interviewed customers were highly satisfied with the technology, particularly in terms of ease of use, customer support, and the ability to integrate data effectively. The result: greater efficiency in capacity management, shorter hospital stays, and faster throughput.

Beyond an EHR: Orchestrating the Entire Patient Journey

While many healthcare solutions focus on EHRs, AI-enabled patient flow platforms extend far beyond the role of an EHR. These platforms support the entire patient journey, from admission through inpatient stays and post-acute care to home with services. By addressing friction points and delays at each stage of the journey, they enable a seamless flow of care and ensure that hospitals can make informed decisions about patient progression.

A key distinction between these platforms and EHRs is the ability to manage operations at scale, integrating AI to deliver better outcomes. EHRs provide critical data for patient orders and clinical documentation, but AI-enabled patient flow technology fills the decision-making gaps that EHRs alone cannot address.

A Vision for Innovation in Healthcare

Healthcare systems are under pressure to innovate, and AI is playing a central role in that transformation. By applying AI to challenges such as length of stay, care continuity, and bed availability, hospitals can improve care coordination, enhance resource utilization, and reduce costs. The shift from process-driven systems to intelligence-driven platforms marks a new era in healthcare, where AI is leveraged to tackle both immediate and long-term operational challenges.

Hospitals must also consider long-term issues such as margin pressures, workforce shortages, and an aging population. AI-driven platforms can provide the insights needed to navigate these challenges, offering predictive and prescriptive analytics that help healthcare organizations plan. For example, they can provide answers to critical questions: How can hospitals create more capacity? What are the long-term financial impacts of current practices? How can healthcare organizations prepare for increased demand?

The Future of AI-Enabled Patient Flow

AI-enabled patient flow is not only a solution for today’s healthcare challenges but also a key driver of future innovation. As these platforms continue to evolve, they will focus on addressing both day-to-day operational challenges and longer-term strategic concerns for hospitals and health systems. This includes providing new functionality that matters most to acute care organizations while integrating even more intelligence into workflows and decision-making processes.

The ability to quickly adapt technology to the specific needs of a health system allows for faster implementation and quicker realization of value. As AI-enabled patient throughput platforms continue to evolve, they will remain essential in helping healthcare organizations achieve better patient outcomes, optimize operations, and navigate the complexities of modern healthcare.

In an era where hospitals and health systems are under increasing pressure to do more with less, the path to AI-enabled care orchestration offers a way forward – creating more efficient, resilient, and patient-centered healthcare systems.

About Jonathan Shoemaker

Jonathan Shoemaker joined ABOUT in 2023 as Chief Executive Officer, bringing more than 25 years of health system and information systems experience with a proven history of transforming and delivering initiatives and solutions that improve healthcare delivery, operations, and growth.

Before joining ABOUT, Jonathan most recently was Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Integration Officer as well as a member of the Senior Executive Team leading Allina Health’s Performance Transformation Office. Before his most recent role at Allina, Shoemaker spent six years as Allina Health’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Improvement Officer. Prior to Jonathan’s tenure at Allina, he held leadership positions at prominent IT & healthcare firms, including NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, BORN Consulting, and Hennepin County Medical Center.

The following is a guest article by Jonathan Shoemaker, CEO at ABOUT Healthcare

As hospitals and health systems face increasing pressure from capacity constraints, many are being forced to turn away patients while struggling to meet revenue and profitability goals. Inefficient patient flow management not only reduces revenue opportunities but also leads to delays in care and adds unnecessary costs. Addressing these issues requires a transformation in how healthcare organizations manage patient movement through the acute care journey – this is where intelligent and AI-enabled technology comes into play.

The Role of AI in Patient Flow Management

Healthcare is changing, and traditional methods of managing patient flow and throughput are no longer sufficient. Hospitals often rely on siloed electronic health records (EHRs) and manual processes that lack the necessary insights to optimize patient flow. AI-enabled and intelligent platforms are emerging as a solution to this challenge, allowing hospitals and health systems to harness the power of AI to streamline patient movement, improve care delivery, and reduce operational inefficiencies.

AI-enhanced platforms can provide real-time decision support, predictive analytics, and actionable insights that help hospitals forecast and manage patient flow more effectively. These technologies not only offer a clearer view of the patient journey but also help address bottlenecks, predict discharge timelines, and optimize the use of resources such as available beds and staff.

Real-Time Decision Support Through AI

Earlier this year, ABOUT Healthcare strengthened its technology by acquiring Edgility, an AI-driven patient progression platform. This acquisition integrated AI-based decision support and real-time monitoring capabilities into the company’s solutions, providing hospitals with a comprehensive tool to manage patient throughput across the entire acute care journey.

The combination of AI and actionable insights has been well-received by healthcare organizations, with many praising the technology’s ability to predict discharge goals earlier, even at the time of admission. For hospitals and health systems, having this level of foresight is crucial for managing capacity challenges, reducing length of stay, and improving overall patient outcomes.

Enhancing Capacity Management

A recent KLAS Research report from May 2024 highlights the value of AI-enabled platforms for improving patient throughput. According to one respondent, the technology extracts data from their EHR to assist in patient movement, capacity management, and demand forecasting. Staff use the system to make timely decisions on admissions and discharges, enabling more efficient patient flow throughout the organization.

KLAS Research also noted that all interviewed customers were highly satisfied with the technology, particularly in terms of ease of use, customer support, and the ability to integrate data effectively. The result: greater efficiency in capacity management, shorter hospital stays, and faster throughput.

Beyond an EHR: Orchestrating the Entire Patient Journey

While many healthcare solutions focus on EHRs, AI-enabled patient flow platforms extend far beyond the role of an EHR. These platforms support the entire patient journey, from admission through inpatient stays and post-acute care to home with services. By addressing friction points and delays at each stage of the journey, they enable a seamless flow of care and ensure that hospitals can make informed decisions about patient progression.

A key distinction between these platforms and EHRs is the ability to manage operations at scale, integrating AI to deliver better outcomes. EHRs provide critical data for patient orders and clinical documentation, but AI-enabled patient flow technology fills the decision-making gaps that EHRs alone cannot address.

A Vision for Innovation in Healthcare

Healthcare systems are under pressure to innovate, and AI is playing a central role in that transformation. By applying AI to challenges such as length of stay, care continuity, and bed availability, hospitals can improve care coordination, enhance resource utilization, and reduce costs. The shift from process-driven systems to intelligence-driven platforms marks a new era in healthcare, where AI is leveraged to tackle both immediate and long-term operational challenges.

Hospitals must also consider long-term issues such as margin pressures, workforce shortages, and an aging population. AI-driven platforms can provide the insights needed to navigate these challenges, offering predictive and prescriptive analytics that help healthcare organizations plan. For example, they can provide answers to critical questions: How can hospitals create more capacity? What are the long-term financial impacts of current practices? How can healthcare organizations prepare for increased demand?

The Future of AI-Enabled Patient Flow

AI-enabled patient flow is not only a solution for today’s healthcare challenges but also a key driver of future innovation. As these platforms continue to evolve, they will focus on addressing both day-to-day operational challenges and longer-term strategic concerns for hospitals and health systems. This includes providing new functionality that matters most to acute care organizations while integrating even more intelligence into workflows and decision-making processes.

The ability to quickly adapt technology to the specific needs of a health system allows for faster implementation and quicker realization of value. As AI-enabled patient throughput platforms continue to evolve, they will remain essential in helping healthcare organizations achieve better patient outcomes, optimize operations, and navigate the complexities of modern healthcare.

In an era where hospitals and health systems are under increasing pressure to do more with less, the path to AI-enabled care orchestration offers a way forward – creating more efficient, resilient, and patient-centered healthcare systems.

About Jonathan Shoemaker

Jonathan Shoemaker joined ABOUT in 2023 as Chief Executive Officer, bringing more than 25 years of health system and information systems experience with a proven history of transforming and delivering initiatives and solutions that improve healthcare delivery, operations, and growth.

Before joining ABOUT, Jonathan most recently was Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Integration Officer as well as a member of the Senior Executive Team leading Allina Health’s Performance Transformation Office. Before his most recent role at Allina, Shoemaker spent six years as Allina Health’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Improvement Officer. Prior to Jonathan’s tenure at Allina, he held leadership positions at prominent IT & healthcare firms, including NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, BORN Consulting, and Hennepin County Medical Center.