Artificial intelligence (AI) is making significant advances in healthcare, particularly in the area of employee scheduling. According to Source EMEA, this innovation is addressing chronic nursing shortages and heavy administrative burdens on healthcare professionals.
From paper sheets to AI tools
The development of the AI scheduling application was a joint effort involving visionary hospital executives, a Swiss company specializing in medical scheduling software, Luzerner Kantonsspital (LUKS) employees, and Microsoft technical experts. Andri Puorger, Microsoft Switzerland Account Technology Strategist for Healthcare, played a pivotal role in this project.
Puorger’s interest in medicine was stimulated by his partner, the station director of the intensive care unit at the Zurich Hospital. Through her, he learned about her nursing shortage, retention issues due to her heavy workload, and outdated scheduling practices. This realization led him to seek technological solutions that could improve efficiency.
“It can’t work like this,” Puorger said, emphasizing the inefficiencies of traditional scheduling methods that require significant time investments. He identified Polypoint, a Swiss company with expertise in medical scheduling software, as a potential collaborator to create a more streamlined system using AI.
Collaboration and Innovation
Thomas Buerdel, head of innovation at Polypoint, recalls early discussions with Puorger and his team of senior program managers, Paul Cherbin. Despite Polypoint’s small size, with 90 employees and about 1,000 healthcare customers, there was a shared vision for innovation. “We had quite a few questions on our minds, but we saw the potential impact,” Buerdel said.
Puorger assured Buerdel that Microsoft’s collaboration will leverage Polypoint’s deep understanding and extensive experience in Swiss healthcare regulations. The proposal included integrating Polypoint’s AI-based scheduling system into the Microsoft Teams app, making it accessible to hospital staff via smartphones.
“I thought if we worked together we could have a big impact,” Puorger said. The idea was well-received by both LUKS and Polypoint, resulting in what Puorger described as a “win-win-win situation.”
Positive Impact and Future Prospects
This collaboration fostered trust and respect between Microsoft and Polypoint. Buerdel emphasized that this partnership not only gave Polypoint greater visibility, but also had a positive impact on its image. “Working with Microsoft is great and helps us get some awareness as a small company,” he said.
This initiative is part of a broader trend in healthcare to use AI and other digital tools to reduce administrative burdens and allow healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. The success of these collaborations could lay the foundation for more innovative solutions in healthcare, solving long-standing problems and improving overall efficiency.
For more information about this development, please visit Source EMEA.
Image source: Shutterstock
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