AHA launches three-year initiative to scale AI and telehealth adoption at hospitals
The American Hospital Association (AHA) said last week that it’s working on a three-year initiative to help healthcare organizations scale their technology adoption for the benefit of business operations and patient outcomes. The lobby said it’s working with the West Health Institute—a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for affordable, quality healthcare for seniors—throughout the duration of the initiative.
Per a statement from the groups, the West Health Accelerator at AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust will build out a support network of resources that can be leveraged by hospitals for the stated purpose of supporting the ability of those facilities to deploy and expand any new capabilities that can translate into “systemwide improvements.”
This would include technology upgrades and staff training, with an emphasis on EHR optimization, telehealth and the integration of artificial intelligence.
The AHA and West Health said they are looking to “share a vision of a health care system where effective technologies are easier to adopt, scale and sustain” to improve the quality and efficiency of care delivery for all patients.
The trust established by the two organizations is supported by a $12 million commitment from West Health, they confirmed.
“We are at a point where many tools exist to meaningfully improve care. By aligning the right technologies with the realities of modern patient care, we can redesign how healthcare is delivered in this country. This is not about inventing the future—it’s about deploying it,” Shelley Lyford, CEO and chair of the West Health Institute, said in a statement.
“Our collaboration with AHA will bring together the capabilities needed to create a systemwide impact,” she added.
‘Accelerator model’ has proven success
The AHA and West Health said they’ve developed this initiative after proving the success of their “accelerator model” which is tantamount to a set of best practices and support for technology rollout.
Successful pilots occurred last year at Mass General Brigham, which improved senior care, and Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, which expanded access to mental health services.
Health systems and hospitals which opt in to the initiative will be given access to a digital platform where leadership can seek support for technology integrations, and find access to solutions to solve many of the adoption hurdles any organization may be facing.
The goal is for hospitals to learn from their peers on how to properly scale any new system to meet patient care needs.
The National Accelerator platform can be found by clicking here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.