Adelaide-developed AI breakthrough to revolutionise hospital bed management

Artificial intelligence dubbed the “Adelaide Score” will be introduced into SA’s hospitals to free up beds – and ease ramping – and may be used worldwide.

An artificial-intelligence breakthrough developed in Adelaide is set to break hospital bed gridlocks – and put the city’s name in hospitals around the world.

The “Adelaide Score” accurately predicts when surgery patients should be ready for discharge, freeing up scarce beds rather than having patients medically fit for discharge waiting long periods until being signed out.

Patients would still need to be physically assessed as ready for discharge but the Adelaide Score would radically streamline the process by calculating exactly who is ready to go home and when.

Paperwork and clinicians could be prepared knowing who is likely to be ready to leave at any given time, making beds available, getting patients back to their own homes faster, and easing strain on crowded emergency departments, which leads to ramping.

The Adelaide Score will be revealed at Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress in Adelaide beginning Monday.

The Adelaide Score algorithm is the brainchild of researchers at the University of Adelaide, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and their Health and Information collaborative, and has successfully predicted expected general surgery patient discharge with more than 80 per cent accuracy.

It is on track to be tested in South Australian hospitals this year and has potential to be used around the world.

Professor Dr Joshua Kovoor.

Researcher Dr Joshua Kovoor, a PhD in surgery candidate at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said hospital stays of almost 9000 SA general surgery patients were analysed in the study to develop the Adelaide Score.

“Currently, no tool accurately predicts patient discharge in real-time within the Australian healthcare system,” Dr Kovoor said.

“We hope the Adelaide Score will streamline and simplify discharge planning after surgery for everyone in the healthcare system, including doctors, nurses and most importantly the patient and their loved ones.

“The Adelaide Score involves artificial intelligence algorithms. With proper training, the more it is used, the more accurate it will become in predicting patient discharge times.”

The study referenced tens of thousands of ward round note timings and included inputs such a patient’s vital signs and blood tests.

“Because the Adelaide Score uses objective inputs, it can be implemented in any hospital around the world, delivering extraordinary cost savings,” Dr Kovoor said.

“We’re exploring options, however the Adelaide Score could one day be integrated into a patient’s electronic medical record or accessed via an app.

“We hope the Adelaide Score will be a mainstay of every Australian hospital within the next decade.”

The five-day Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress is the largest multidisciplinary surgical meeting held in the southern hemisphere and brings together some of the top surgical and medical minds from across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the rest of the world.