A recent spate of mainstream media news coverage, especially about the rising maternal morbidity and morbidity rates in the United States, is raising consumer awareness about the risks. Clinicians and hospitals alike need to work on reversing these trends while understanding the effect it has on the decision-making process of where to have a baby.
Leveraging AI for improved safety
There are hospitals and health systems across the country that are listening to those 90 percent of respondents who said a hospital’s investment in technology to prevent bad outcomes during L&D is important to them in choosing where they would give birth. The hospital executives investing in this technology realize that investing in safer deliveries isn’t just good medicine, it’s good business.
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Newer types of L&D health IT leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to monitor the avalanche of data generated during childbirth to identify trends that may require interventions to prevent bad outcomes. Tools such as AI can save clinicians from having to scan through data from fetal strips manually, enabling them to focus their knowledge, skills and experience where they’re truly needed. In addition, when nurses see troubling patterns during L&D that are red-flagged by the software, they can bring them to the obstetrician’s attention.
The takeaway for hospitals and health systems
Clearly, the survey results show that providing a safe environment for mothers in labor is a top priority among women of childbearing years. Women understand the role that technology plays in promoting safety, including technology designed to deliver early warnings about developing illness before it reaches a crisis stage.
Hospitals and health systems that can demonstrate they are on top of the issue and are implementing technologies to address the 60 percent of preventable negative outcomes, can gain a distinct competitive advantage within the markets they serve. This dedication to safety will not only impact the birth itself, but could deliver significant dividends in terms of future healthcare decisions for the family. It’s an investment worth making.
