One of the GTA’s hospital networks recently held its first AI contest, with the goal of coming up with solutions to improve healthcare.

From a predictive tool that could prevent delays at the hospital to a patient-facing chatbot that can improve patient experience, Trillium Health Partners said it received more than 60 submissions from doctors and researchers.

The winner of the “AI for Better Health Catalyst Challenge” came from the emergency department at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.

“Scheduling is a challenge and it is time consuming,” said winner Jackie Rodricks, who is the clinical manager of Credit Valley Hospital’s emergency department. She said her team will spend about seven hours per day making sure the department is properly staffed, and the tool she is helping to develop could condense that time into minutes.

“This really puts not just me, but my whole leadership team, back at the bedside,” she explained.

Rodricks started developing the AI tool on her own, but when she heard about the contest she thought it would be the perfect way to get more technical support to bring her idea to life.

Typically, emergency department staff assignments are created manually, requiring several hours of time and coordination each day. As the department faces increased demand, Rodricks’ solution uses AI to automate and optimize this process by integrating workforce data, staff qualifications and assignment guidelines into a single system.

The solution is designed to reduce the administrative burden, improve efficiency and better align staff skills with patient needs. 

Rodricks says after the tool is created, it will still require a staff member to look it over to ensure everything is correct.

The idea will receive support and funding, and some of the work to implement it is already underway.

‘We need to work smarter in addition to working harder,’ says chief of staff

Sam Sabbah, chief of staff at Trillium Health Partners, says as emergency departments across their hospital network face increased demands, they’re looking for new ways to tackle the issues that come with that. The AI for Better Health Catalyst Challenge was one way of exploring solutions.

“We can’t just keep asking for more beds, more physicians and more nurses. It’s not going to keep up with demand,” he said.

“We need to change the way we approach these problems, we need to work smarter in addition to working harder and AI has a very major role to play in this.”

Sabbah was also part of the seven-member judging panel for the contest, made up of healthcare, technology and philanthropic leaders. He said Rockricks’ idea could have positive implications across the entire organization.

“The ICU faces similar challenges — so do the inpatient wards, the mental health units and the cardiac intensive units. Building it in the emerge will leverage that knowledge and we’ll be able to scale it,” he said.

It was the first time Trillium Health Partners ran the challenge, and as patient volumes continue to increase the plan is to make it an annual event.