Lifesaving Australian technology able to warn doctors of patient's deteriorating condition

Canberra [Australia], August 24: Researchers from Australia's national science agency have developed an early tool to alert doctors of a patient's deteriorating condition in a hospital setting.
In a study published on Wednesday, the team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) demonstrated the machine learning tool can use data from electronic medical records (EMRs) to monitor patients at risk of deteriorating.
Sankalp Khanna, a CSIRO scientist, said that EMR data could be used to offer significantly better patient care, allowing medical professionals to predict when a patient's vital signs are likely to reach a danger zone and helping them make decisions to prevent deterioration.
To test the tool, researchers input the EMRs of 18,648 patients who were identified at 95, 85, or 70 percent risk of deteriorating.
It successfully predicted deterioration windows two to eight hours in advance for 100 percent of the patients.
Khanna said in a media release that until now, there hasn't been a way to harness all the data in the EMR to predict patient health. This new tool has the potential to transform the day-to-day functioning of health systems.
"The alerts warn medical staff when a patient is at risk of deterioration leading to possible death, cardiac arrest, or unplanned admission to ICU. The tool can notify of the need for clinical intervention," Khanna said.
"Clinical decision support tools such as these are a pre-emptive solution that can provide medical staff with an opportunity to intervene earlier to prevent adverse patient outcomes."
The CSIRO is now in discussions for clinical trials to test how the alerts can be integrated into hospital workflows.
Source: Xinhua