A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal highlights the effectiveness of an AI-based system, CHARTWatch, in reducing the risk of unexpected deaths among hospitalized patients by identifying those at high risk of health deterioration.

During a 19-month intervention period, the system identified 482 patients as high-risk, a significant decrease compared to 1,656 high-risk patients identified in the 43-month pre-intervention period.

Developed by Unity Health's AI team since 2017 and implemented in late 2020, CHARTWatch continuously monitors over 100 data points from patients' electronic medical records, including vital signs and medical history, updating its predictions hourly.

The study found that the non-palliative death rate dropped from 2.1% to 1.6% after implementing CHARTWatch, indicating a notable improvement in patient outcomes.

Experts, including Professor Ross Mitchell, advocate for broader deployment of CHARTWatch across more hospitals in Canada to comprehensively evaluate its effectiveness.

The implementation of CHARTWatch led to improved communication among clinicians, with real-time alerts and regular updates enhancing monitoring and response times for high-risk patients.

The research analyzed a total of 13,649 admissions in the general internal medicine unit, comparing results with 8,470 admissions in units that did not utilize the AI tool, revealing no similar reduction in unexpected deaths.

Lead author Dr. Amol Verma emphasized the importance of rigorously testing AI tools in medicine to ensure their safety and effectiveness, reinforcing the need for careful evaluation.

Despite the promising results, the study advises caution and calls for randomized control trials to further validate the findings and meet traditional medical study standards.

Co-author Dr. Muhammad Mamdani highlighted the critical importance of understanding the real-world impacts of AI solutions like CHARTWatch on patient outcomes.

The findings suggest that AI tools like CHARTWatch could significantly reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers, allowing them to focus more on patient care.

The Unity Health team is optimistic about expanding the use of CHARTWatch across Ontario, collaborating with over 30 hospitals in Canada's GEMINI data-sharing network.