QPSi members and leaders gather to highlight recent advances
Technological advancements are moving at a rapid pace, with artificial intelligence promising to transform the practice of medicine and health care delivery. As a leader in this field, the University of Florida College of Medicine hosted the second annual AI4Health conference in Orlando, Florida.
Over the span of three days, the conference brought together clinicians, researchers, and industry leaders to explore AI advancements and solutions within health care to increase quality and safety for patients.
Robyn Clay-Williams, Ph.D.
“The conference provided an excellent opportunity to learn from national and international experts across a range of disciplines about innovative developments in the field of AI and how they could be applied in the health system to improve care for patients,” said conference speaker Robyn Clay-Williams, Ph.D., of Macquarie University in Australia, who leads a research program in the field of human factors and resilience in health care. “The atmosphere was collegial, with both presenters and delegates full of energy, enthusiasm, and great ideas on how to leverage AI to deliver the best care for patients.”
Mary Patterson, M.D., ME.D.
Mary Patterson, M.D., ME.d., UF chair of the department of emergency medicine, associate dean of experiential learning, and leader of the UF Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation was also in attendance as a speaker and lauded the conference. “The AI4Health conference was incredible. As someone who is a novice in AI, I came away with an increased understanding of the potential of AI in health care as well as practical tools to use now,” said Patterson.
Day 3 of the event held the AI for Quality Improvement Symposium, which included a research session and opportunities for QPSi members to present and participate in panels alongside Clay-Williams and Patterson.
“On the final day of the event, a series of innovative yet practical, patient-focused projects were presented, each highlighting a different application of AI,” Clay-Williams said. “The projects were developed and delivered by diverse, multidisciplinary teams consisting of clinicians, data analysts, and AI specialists, and showed great promise for how AI could be leveraged for health system quality improvement activities.”
Tanja Magoc, Ph.D., explaining her project.
Among the projects presented was “Enhancing Healthcare Quality: Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Integrating Artificial Intelligence Solutions into Clinical Practice,” an AI/QI Incubator team study led by Tanja Magoc, Ph.D., an AI engineer for process engineering who collaborates with clinicians in the AI/QI Incubator to create customized AI models based on their unique project needs.
Magoc discussed building a framework for the clinical setting that incorporates different processes, such as quality improvement, project management, AI and computer engineering, and industrial engineering, to create an all-encompassing system that increases the quality of patient care. This framework would also define which steps need to be taken in each phase of clinical care, leading to increased transparency and system efficacy.
“I sometimes feel presenting a framework rather than a specific use case doesn’t get as much attention, so I was really surprised with how many questions I got about the framework because it’s so new and people were interested to know everything,” Magoc said. “I was really happy with our conference, the friendliness of people and the opportunity to learn from everybody.”
In talking about what the future looks like for her poster, Magoc said the goal is to create a comprehensive framework for AI for QI, disseminate that to others and teach them how they can improve patient safety.
“Once there is a published framework, people can feel more comfortable because now there is something they can cite, rather than making your own thing, which is scary when you don’t have anybody to cite and you’re the first one doing things,” Magoc said. “I’m excited for UF to be at the frontier of AI and QI.”
Click on the image below to view Tanja Magoc’s project poster from the 2024 AI4Health AI for Quality Improvement Symposium:
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About the author:
Damarys Santacoloma, M.S.
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY INITIATIVE
Damarys Santacoloma, M.S., graduated from Florida International University with a B.A. in philosophy and an M.S. in marketing. Before joining the University of Florida’s College of Medicine as the communications manager for the Quality and Patient Safety Initiative, or QPSi, she worked in a variety of fields, including the nonprofit sector, the startup space and in higher education, previously serving as the communications manager for UF Online. Her skills range from email marketing and customer relationship management, or CRM, to digital and print content creation and website maintenance. Now in her current role, Damarys assists in creating a communications strategy for the QPSi with an omnichannel approach in order to increase the initiative’s reputation and brand awareness.
