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Lovelace integrates AI to bolster care for patients with chronic illnesses
Lovelace Health System was attacked by hackers last year. Cyber experts said such attacks could become more common.
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Patients with multiple chronic diseases in the Lovelace Health System will notice increased support in managing their health issues thanks to a new partnership with a company that utilizes artificial intelligence.
Lovelace officials last week announced a partnership with Tennessee-based CareHarmony to integrate the company’s Chronic Care Management program. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vesta Sandoval said the program was implemented in early June for Medicare patients with two or more chronic conditions — and it helps identify and manage patients’ illnesses through a variety of tools.
“Basically what this system is set up to do is to help with the transition of care for that patient — so the patient’s needs (that) extend beyond just what the doctor can do inside the examining room,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval said the CareHarmony program uses both AI and human-focused services for patients. A nurse is assigned to a patient, she said, with a treatment plan put in place and recorded in Lovelace’s electronic medical records.
The AI aspect comes in, specifically, to make a more targeted approach in assessing the needs of that patient even outside the hospital setting. For instance, Sandoval said, that could extend to identifying medications that might be hard to acquire for patients.
The program’s focus is on Medicare patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, renal disease and COPD. And roughly 300 qualified patients have already been identified, Sandoval said.
“It’s that type of partnership that’s going to stay intact overtime,” Sandoval said. “It’s a really exciting development for us.”
