AI software cuts sepsis deaths in half at Florida hospital

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – A Florida hospital has cut sepsis-related deaths by half by utilizing advanced technology that continuously monitors patients to detect potential early warning signs, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Tampa General Hospital has saved almost 900 lives over four years after implementing the Palantir-developed Sepsis Hub system, The Times reported. The software tracks every patient’s vital signs around the clock and can notify a “rapid response team” of hospital employees to any slight changes that could indicate sepsis, according to the outlet.

Palantir did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“Since implementing the Sepsis Hub application as part of Tampa General’s comprehensive approach to care coordination, we’ve realized significant improvements in sepsis outcomes, including a 68% reduction in early sepsis mortality and an estimated 886 lives saved and counting,” Jaimie Weber, vice president of medical informatics at Tampa General Hospital, told the DCNF. “By providing care teams with near real-time visibility into patient data and actionable insights, Sepsis Hub is one of several advanced analytics tools we use to help identify at-risk patients sooner and intervene more quickly when every minute matters.”

“We are proud of our collaboration with Palantir as part of our broader effort to build a more connected health system, while recognizing that these results are ultimately driven by the expertise, vigilance and dedication of the physicians, nurses and care teams who use these tools to deliver world-class care,” Weber continued.

Some doctors claim the same technology could become more widely adopted globally in the future, including in the National Health Service, the United Kingdom’s publicly funded healthcare system, per The Times’ report.

“This is someone’s mother, brother, sister that is going home, when before this project and these tools they would not have. From a clinical perspective, it’s a game-changer,” Weber told The Times.

The report comes as artificial intelligence (AI) tools have become more widely integrated into the U.S. healthcare system in recent years.

An AI-powered software notably failed to notice that a nurse working at a Tennessee hospital was pilfering fentanyl over the course of several months, CBS News first reported on June 1.

Additionally, at least 350,000 U.S. adults and over 1,800 children who develop sepsis die during their hospitalization or are discharged to hospice, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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