Apprise Health Insights and GE Healthcare set to launch real time hospital bed and resource tracking tool

By

Emily Boerger

|

Apprise Health Insights — the data subsidiary of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) — announced on Wednesday it will partner with GE Healthcare to launch a first-in-the-nation “automated real time hospital bed and resource tracking tool.” 

Under leadership from Oregon Health & Science University, the tracking platform, called the Oregon Capacity System, first launched in March 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Health system executives stood up the system using the GE Healthcare “command center” when it became clear that insight into hospital bed capacity and resource supplies was necessary. The original tool tracked current hospital beds and ventilators only.  

In September 2021, Apprise took over management of the Oregon Capacity System and set a goal to increase the data streams that come into the platform. 

 

Stay one step ahead. Join our email list for the latest news.

Subscribe

 

Helene Anderson, DNP, regional director of capacity & throughput at Providence St. Joseph Health in Oregon, says the tool has so far been “invaluable.”

Despite Oregon being one of the states with the lowest ratio of beds per capita, this system has given us such a clear and accurate view of capacity across hospitals that we’ve been able to maximize resources and even bring in patients from out-of-state. Having shared visibility has promoted collaboration at the state level to navigate capacity constraints and overcome challenges to patient flow to help patients get the care they need when they need it.”

GE Healthcare is developing the expanded tool through a federal grant provided by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Apprise says the system will expand to track pediatric, psych, ICU, acute, and rehab beds, along with resources such as personal protective equipment. The tool is set to launch in Oregon by summer 2022. 

According to an announcement from Apprise and GE Healthcare, the Oregon Capacity System is already tracking 7,368 beds and about 800 ventilators across 60 hospitals. The platform processes 4.2 million data points each day, though with the additional data streams, project leaders estimate it will process more than 5 million data points per day. 

Participating organizations will be able to access this data through a website that will refresh every 5 minutes. 

To date, Apprise and GE Healthcare estimate the platform has saved participating hospitals 45,000 hours of labor, which, they say, translates to about $3 million in productivity. 

“We are proud to lead this effort that will give every hospital across the state access to more accurate information on hospital capacity and critical resources to better serve their patients,” said Andy Van Pelt, CEO of Apprise Health Insights, in a statement. “Born out of the need for real-time information in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this type of centralized platform can aggregate and surface complex data to front-line care providers.”