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Artificial Intelligence Provides Opportunities For Stronger Doctor-patient Relationships, Preventative Care

DANVILLE — Artificial intelligence is helping Geisinger doctors forge stronger bonds with patients and prevent health crises.

According to Geisinger Chief Data Informatics Officer David Vawdrey, the health care system has been using artificial intelligence-related interventions for "literally decades."

Current health system practices include using AI to assist doctors during appointments. The technology is also used for preventative care and to help doctors catch things they might not be looking for.

Ambient documentation is an increasingly popular AI tool that is changing the way patients and doctors interact during appointments.

Vawdrey said ambient documentation is being rolled out "aggressively" across Geisinger facilities with about 500 doctors actively using the technology. The tool is receiving positive feedback from doctors and patients alike.

Instead of doctors having their heads in their computers and hands on their keyboards, they are asking patients for permission to record the conversation. From the recording, AI is able to take notes and document the care provided, according to Vawdrey.

" It's not just an audio recording, but it's translating that entire encounter into all the paperwork that is required to have a successful visit, both from a care point of view and also billing point of view," Vawdrey said. "So it's taking the work that was literally hours a day for our doctors and cutting it down dramatically."

Vawdrey described ambient documentation as "transformational" for the health care system, giving patients a more personal experience and doctors a more efficient one.

Other artificial intelligence uses take place more so behind-the-scenes. The technology is used in a number of preventative care efforts.

" Geisinger is known for its efforts to identify disease early and we try to, you know, keep our communities healthy," Vawdrey said. "And so we have a whole suite of artificial intelligence related tools that predict someone's risk."

The tools can predict health concerns such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, life -threatening abdominal aortic aneuryms and more.

Health care professionals utilize these programs to keep patients on track, reaching out to high-risk patients if and when they are due for certain screenings or exams.

"We found really good success in those programs where we've identified cancer in earlier stages," Vawdrey said. "We've identified issues where people can receive the proper treatment to prevent them from having a bad outcome."

Geisinger's STAIR Program — System to Track Abnormalities of Importance Reliably — is another AI tool helping doctors identify and manage patients with incidentally identified lung abnormalities.

Geisinger Dr. Yatin Mehta said of the millions of individuals that undergo CAT scans nationwide every year, around one-third of them have incidental lung nodules.

" That means something that we are not looking for, but we did the CAT scan for some reason, and now we found it," Mehta said.

The failure right to follow up on these nodules ranges from 20 to 50 percent and is a problem across the nation.

To tackle this problem, doctors created a program that identifies nodules, evaluates the concern and tracks patients throughout treatment.

" That means we want to have a zero failure rate and we track that until we figure out whether this lung nodule is benign, that means nothing needs to be done further, or this one is going to be problematic for the patient," Mehta said.

The AI software currently scans all Geisinger radiology reports and any mention of a lung nodule results in a patient being brought into the STAIR Program. Providers can also refer patients to the program when they recognize nodules.

Geisinger's STAIR Program has around 11,000 patients enrolled, according to Program Manager Shelly Vezendy.

Of those enrolled, Mehta said nearly 99 percent of lung nodules are detected, a much better probability than the 20 to 50 percent previously missed.

As artificial intelligence is implemented in many areas across Geisinger facilities, balance is key.

" We're trying to find that balance, as I think others are, to try to make sure that we're not losing those critical pieces that technology can't replace or can't adequately supplement," Vawdrey said. "I think it is foremost in our minds to make sure that we're doing this in a safe and a responsible and a patient-centered, patient-focused way."

Geisinger Expands Outpatient Clinic Near DanvilleWnep.com

MAHONING TOWNSHIP — Construction crews are working outside the Geisinger-Woodbine Lane Outpatient Clinic near Danville. It's a huge expansion projec...

MAHONING TOWNSHIP -- Construction crews are working outside the Geisinger-Woodbine Lane Outpatient Clinic near Danville. It's a huge expansion project. Officials say when it's done it will be a 135,000 square foot addition.

"We`re going to be doubling the size of the facility," Tom Sokola said.

Geisinger officials say the $54 million expansion project will add permanent jobs for around 100 people. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth Wood says it will mean many patient services all under one roof.

"We're bringing together orthopedics, ophthalmology, general practice, pediatrics, there will be an expansion of radiology, so it will really create an opportunity for patients in this area to not necessarily have to go to the main hospital," Wood said.

"That would give us space on our main campus to back-fill that with higher patient, higher acuity services," Sokola said.

The project includes a three-level parking garage which will add more than 300 parking spaces to the facility.

"It will help me as well as everyone else of course when the winter comes and we have to deal with the weather," Karen Trutt of Milton said.

Trutt has been coming to the current facility for 12 years. She said the expansion is a welcome one.

"I've been coming for therapy and post-op visits," Trutt said. "I think it`s needed. There are so many people who are trying to get in and see the doctors. They`re really busy and they`re doing the best they can. I think it`s going to be beneficial to everyone in the area."

The expansion at Geisinger-Woodbine Lane Outpatient Clinic is expected to be completed in February of 2017.

Geisinger Doctors Win Recognition - Reading Eagle

Three Geisinger providers have been recognized by the Pennsylvania Medical Society for achievement early in their careers.

Family medicine physicians Dr. Hans Zuckerman and Dr. Joanna Kraynak-Appel and interventional cardiologist Dr. Nicholas Ierovante are among PAMED's Top Physicians Under 40 for 2023.

They were nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of PAMED members who yearly honor the best of the best early-career physicians in the state.

"We had a lot of great nominations, but these candidates stood out among the rest," said Kristen Sandel, M.D., PAMED president-elect and chair of the awards committee. "With their ambition and innovative ideas, they will shape and shine bright in the future of medicine."

Zuckerman practices at Geisinger Pottsville and serves as division chief of the Department of Community Medicine for Schuylkill County and Geisinger Kulpmont in Northumberland County. He specializes in family medicine and has clinical interests in preventive care, infectious diseases, obesity and women's health.

His nominator said, "as a leader, his patient-centric views and encouraging reminders on why we do what we do are contagious throughout his clinics" and that "he inspires everyone from the support staff to the providers to provide the best possible care to patients."

Ierovante practices at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and serves as assistant professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine for Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Kraynak-Appel is associate director of Community Medicine in Columbia County and assists in managing Geisinger Primary Care clinics in Benton, Berwick, Buckhorn and Elysburg.

Dr. Hans Zuckerman (Courtesy of Geisinger)

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