Bayshore, Georgian collaborate to use AI to lower patient wait times

BARRIE, ON, March 11, 2024 /CNW/ - Bayshore Specialty Rx and Georgian College are leveraging student expertise, high-quality, real-world patient data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop innovative nursing solutions to improve patient care.

"Bayshore Specialty Rx is proud to work with Georgian College on this initiative," said Kate Lawrence, National Director, Bayshore Specialty Rx Nursing Services. "As a leading specialty pharmacy and nursing services provider in Canada, we are always looking for innovative ways to enhance both the patient and employee experience. New technology and techniques have the potential to revolutionize the way healthcare is delivered."

Georgian College's Artificial Intelligence ? Architecture, Design, and Implementation program provides students with the necessary background to become AI system designers, programmers, implementers, or machine learning analysts. With a strong focus on applied skills, students learn how to design and implement learning solutions for various situations and solve challenges for diverse industries.

"It was an amazing opportunity for our students to work with real-time data, especially from Bayshore," said Sanjeev Kumar, Researcher, Data Scientist and Professor at Georgian College. "The Bayshore name is known for healthcare innovation, and we look forward to seeing the impact the students' work will have on the wider industry."

Under the guidance of Kumar, students from the program were able to create healthcare solutions using AI technology. Projects included various schedule optimization software for Bayshore Specialty Rx nurses and infusion clinics.

The students provided a minimum viable product, which will act as a framework for Bayshore Specialty Rx to enable the product development and commercialization to market. This advanced technology solution will allow Bayshore Specialty Rx to support greater patient experiences and outcomes, minimize wait times, efficiently optimize resources for productivity to enhance overall patient care and clinic responsiveness.

"Our goal was to design efficient patient routes so each nurse can visit more patients by optimizing their time," says Rahil Ahmed, Student at Georgian College who worked on a nursing staff scheduler solution for Bayshore Specialty Rx's nursing and scheduling team. "This patient-nurse matching solution is based on geographical location, the number of patients assigned to the nurse, and the drugs the nurse has been trained to administer."

The capability created by students uses AI algorithms to optimize scheduling and planning, which can help automate scheduling tasks, reduce errors, and improve efficiency.

"Several dependencies such as the infusion duration, infusion risk, required medical supervision, availability and operating hours can affect scheduling at infusion clinics," says Pankti Vishnukumar, Student in Georgian College's AI program who worked on an optimized scheduling software for Bayshore Specialty Rx infusion clinics. "Using existing Bayshore Specialty Rx data, we developed a condition-based schedule optimization program that meets both the patient's and clinic's specific needs."

As the field of AI continues to rapidly evolve, there is potential for solutions that help clinicians provide more personalized care to patients and more efficiently manage resources.

"Collaborating with educational institutions, like Georgian College, can equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to develop AI models that streamline clinician workflow and improve patient outcomes," said Lawrence. "Bayshore Specialty Rx even had the pleasure of hiring a student from this year's graduating class."

Bayshore Specialty Rx is a division of Bayshore HealthCare (Bayshore), one of Canada's leading providers of home and community healthcare, and specialty pharmacy services. Bayshore Specialty Rx has more than 90 infusion clinics and 11 pharmacies across the country, as well as patient support programs and nursing services. Bayshore's goal is to enhance the quality of life, well-being, dignity, and independence of Canadians of all ages. https://www.bayshore.ca/

Georgian is MORE than an education ? it's an experience. The college offers 130+ market-driven programs, from degrees and diplomas, to certificates, apprenticeships, corporate training and more. A recognized leader in student work experience, our graduate employment rate ? 90.3 per cent ? is in the top 3 for Ontario colleges. Georgian graduates continue to play a pivotal role in meeting the demand for a highly qualified workforce. We're the first ? and only ? college in Canada designated a changemaker college by Ashoka U for our role as a leader in social innovation and changemaking in higher education. https://www.georgiancollege.ca/

SOURCE Bayshore HealthCare