Alfred Health, a healthcare provider based in Melbourne, Australia, has partnered with GE HealthCare to improve the connection between its hospitals and community services.
Under the collaboration, Alfred Health will implement GE HealthCare’s Command Centre software system to drive rapid and informed decision-making with key data and personnel.
The software system is said to enhance situational awareness, communication, and overall operational and clinical efficiency through digital systems and centralised information.
GE HealthCare said Alfred Health will be the first health service in the Southern Hemisphere to adopt its Command Centre software.
GE HealthCare ASEAN, Korea, Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Amit Yadav said: “We are thrilled to help Alfred Health enhance their system-wide efficiencies for the benefit of patients and their care teams with our Command Centre software.”
“In health systems where it has been adopted, it improves operational efficiency to support frontline caregivers, helps to streamline patient flow, predict bottlenecks and delays, and balance workloads and resources.
“The system can support hospitals’ goals to ensure that patients are treated in the wards best suited to manage their often-complex care, with the potential to reduce the need for additional wards and beds.
“Command Centre helps operational leaders manage hospital-wide efficiency and improve care coordination through advanced algorithms and real-time insights, which could ultimately enhance hospital performance.”
Initially launched in 2016, Command Centre is part of GE HealthCare’s AI-enabled portfolio.
The software system supports hospital systems by simplifying patient care planning and addressing all competing demands from all service points across the hospital system.
It leverages specialised tiles, which are small applications that operate within the platform, to integrate streaming data from electronic management records (EMRs) and other sources.
The Command Centre provides healthcare professionals with network-wide visibility and planning tools to improve access to care, conserve resources, and enhance operations.
Alfred Hospital, a part of Alfred Health, is said to be Australia’s busiest trauma centre and Victoria’s largest Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The health service operates 18 statewide services, where the Command Centre will use AI and machine learning to help optimise capacity to manage high patient volumes.
Alfred Health will initially use tiles in the Command Centre Software Platform, focused on current and forecasted capacity management, patient flow, and care delivery.
Alfred Health chief executive Adam Horsburgh said: “Healthcare is well-suited to harnessing intelligent computer systems that can process vast amounts of patient and hospital data in seconds.
“We are here to provide our patients with excellent and compassionate care, and to be able to do that in the most effective and timely way possible.
“As our services continue to grow, and are offered in more and more locations, this exciting project promises to support us in continuing this effort for our community.”
