ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
MERCY LAUNCHES AI-DRIVEN TEXTING PROGRAMME TO PREVENT CHEMO-RELATED HOSPITALISATIONS
Chemotherapy is a lifesaving treatment for many cancer patients , but the side effects can lead to hospitalisations . Named The Chen Chemotherapy Model after lead data scientist Jiajing Chen , the new AI-driven texting platform is proving valuable at keeping patients out of the hospital by raising red flags before symptoms become severe .
The Chen Chemotherapy Model creates a risk score for non-leukaemia chemotherapy patients over age 18 . Continuously learning , the model predicts the likelihood of outpatient chemotherapy patients experiencing symptoms that may result in
Mercy Jiajing Chen and her family hospitalisation within 30 days of their chemotherapy treatment .
Once opted into the smart texting platform , patients receive a daily text for seven days , except at weekends and holidays . The text includes a list of symptoms including diarrhoea , pain , fever , fatigue , nausea , vomiting or no symptoms .
“ Historically , we have not known which patients are having a problem until they presented to the ER or called the office , which was typically late in the day when we had limited options available ,” said Dr Jay Carlson , Mercy Cancer Care Performance Acceleration Medical
Director . “ The Chen Chemotherapy Model and smart texting allows us to proactively manage these patients and identify when they are having problems earlier in the journey . This means they may be able to be treated in the office , recover faster and feel better overall .”
When a patient selects a symptom , they are prompted to rate it and , based on their answers , the information may be escalated to their provider .
Chen served Mercy for nearly four years before she lost her own battle with cancer earlier this year . Prior to her diagnosis , Chen used her expertise in statistical modelling , Machine Learning algorithms and predictive analytics to develop the model that would later help others like her .
Greenwood said this project meant so much to Chen , whose short battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer interrupted her work . “ When she was in the hospital , she used all her strength to make sure her knowledge was passed along to her Mercy colleagues ,” Greenwood said . “ The project , named for Jiajing , will be a legacy I can share with our children , ages one to four , to help them know their mother .”
Chen won Innovator of the Year at the 2020 ACCC National Oncology Conference for her work on the model , which has been improved with Epic workflow integration and texting technology . The new smart texting programme using The Chen Chemotherapy Model is the first of many use cases made possible by the Mercy and Microsoft collaboration . �
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