5 ways AI can help a hospital’s discharge department

Among the myriad processes to which AI could be meaningfully applied in healthcare, perhaps few are more easily overlooked than discharging patients from the hospital. 

The apparent oversight is due for correction, as the technology holds potential to transform patient discharge planning, the authors of a new report point out. 

How might AI make a difference? By streamlining administrative tasks, predicting patient discharge 24 hours ahead to smooth the transition, reducing the risk of readmission and improving patient understanding and engagement. 

“Utilizing these processes not only makes the discharge process more efficient but also improves patient outcomes and decreases healthcare systems’ costs,” states the report, which was produced by the global healthcare IT consultancy and software developer IT Medical.

The report names five ways patient-discharge AI can help: 

1. Educate patients. 

Patients are given important information about their health condition and medication on discharge, the authors note. However, they add, if they do not fully understand this information, they “may not be able to adhere to recommendations, resulting in worsening of their condition and readmission to hospital.” More: 

‘AI can be used to transform discharge summaries into language that the patient can fully understand and engage with.’

2. Boost efficiency. 

AI can write administrative documents required for patient discharge “faster and in many cases more accurately than humans,” the authors write. “Medical professionals are incredibly busy, and so the writing of these documents by AI frees them up to carry out other essential tasks required to discharge patients.”

‘AI documentation also allows healthcare workers to spend more time caring for patients—which, as an added benefit, may help reduce burnout.’

3. Optimize outcomes. 

The use of AI in patient discharge processes improves outcomes for patients, IT Medical maintains. It can reduce the amount of time they have to unnecessarily remain in hospital following an assessment of discharge, for example. Meanwhile: 

‘It can also improve patients’ understanding of discharge summaries and reduce their chances of readmission.’

4. Cut costs. 

Improving the efficiency of patient discharge using AI reduces lengths of stay, thus slashing costs per patient and saving the hospital money, the authors assert. 

‘When it is considered that a single patient will cost the [U.K.’s] National Health Service approximately $610 per day, the importance of patients staying no longer than necessary is clear.’ 

5. Reallocate resources. 

Efficient patient discharge allows resources—including beds—to be allocated to patients most in need instead of healthy patients taking up space, the authors suggest. 

‘Patient readmission to hospital is equally expensive, if not more so, than first admission—and the rates of readmission are rising.’

IT Medical acknowledges that the integration of AI into patient discharge processes “has its own challenges, including amalgamating AI into existing IT systems and ensuring that it adheres to data confidentiality and security regulations.”

The authors conclude:

‘With constructive implementation, carefully considered regulations and educational programs for both medical professionals and patients, AI will be able to continue revolutionizing healthcare, improving both patient outcomes and satisfaction.’

To download the full report in exchange for your contact information, click here.