Patient flow automation startup Qventus launched a new product on Monday. The San Francisco-based company unveiled a new AI assistant designed to alleviate healthcare staff’s administrative burden by completing mundane tasks for them.
The assistant was built in collaboration with health systems, including Northwestern Medicine, Ardent Health and Allina Health.
Northwestern has been using Qventus’s perioperative solution to help solve challenges related to operating room access and has seen “great results,” according to Dr. Saadia Sherwani, a cardiac anesthesiologist and senior vice president of administration at Northwestern Medicine. The company’s perioperative software integrates with EHRs and uses machine learning to automate operating room scheduling processes and maximize surgical caseloads.
“Qventus has proven its impact on operational flows in the perioperative domain, and thus we are excited to collaborate with them to offer this new tool to our care teams,” Dr. Sherwani said
She highlighted the fact that clinicians spend a significant amount of their valuable time on administrative tasks. This not only prevents them from practicing at the top of their licenses, but also hurts their productivity and wellness, she noted.
By deploying Qventus’ new AI assistant, Northwestern seeks to fix inefficient workflows that lead to staff burnout and higher costs, Dr. Sherwani stated.
In Northwestern’s pre-operative clinic environment, care teams spend hours on administrative tasks like pre-operative planning, answering general care questions, transcribing patient-clinician conversations and coordinating additional testing to avoid unnecessary surgical cancellations, she pointed out. She believes Qventus’ AI assistant will do a good job of automating those burdensome tasks.
“By integrating with the EHR, the Qventus platform will leverage generative AI, machine learning and behavioral science to predict operational bottlenecks, recommend remedies, and automate processes,” Dr. Sherwani explained. “The goal is for the AI assistants to go beyond merely identifying problems — to orchestrate necessary actions, ensure efficient completion and provide audit trails for continuous improvement, leading to enhanced patient care.”
The “strong ROI” Northwestern has seen with Qventus’ perioperative software means that the health system now expects similar results with the integration of the new AI assistant, she added.
Qventus estimates a 25-40% reduction in Northwestern’s same-day surgery cancellation rate, as well as a “significant productivity boost” for each care operations role, Dr. Sherwani said.
Photo: Nuthawut Somsuk, Getty Images
