AI at the heart of healing: Redefining the patient experience at The Ottawa Hospital

The Canadian health care system faced urgent Health and Human Resource (HHR) concerns, where providers and staff reported unprecedented burnout and decline in their mental health. As a result, clinicians were stretched thin and patients had limited access to care. To address this, health systems began to look for innovative solutions that complemented the skills of important health care resources, allowing them to practice more effectively, with emphasis on value-added patient interaction and reduce administrative burden.

At The Ottawa Hospital, patients scheduled for surgery typically had a single Pre-Admission Unit appointment (PAU) two to six weeks before surgery to help prepare. This patient experience anchored on information exchanged only during the PAU appointment, leaving an unrealized opportunity to empower patients with continuous and effective access to important and timely information. The hospital wanted an approach that raised patient preparedness, reduced administrative burden, improved patient and visitor experience, and allowed clinicians to focus on important tasks.

With its Digital Teammate now assisting patients and visitors across various campuses, the hospital realized several benefits:

• Enhanced patient engagement: Patients preparing for surgery had an interactive digital companion available, to answer questions across topics and support them outside of their scheduled PAU appointment. This helped them make the most of their clinical appointments and supported better outcomes which reflected through reduced readmission rates, and improved patient navigation through the system.
• Relieved administrative burden: Front-line staff saw their workloads lightened as the Digital Teammate handled common queries and navigation support, thereby freeing providers to spend more time on meaningful patient care in the new campus development FAQ use case.
• Operational flexibility and resilience: As The Ottawa Hospital expanded, digital support scaled effortlessly, adapting to new sites, languages, and integrating with various sources of data to address unique patient needs.
• Advancing trust in AI: The Digital Teammate fostered greater trust in the use of technology to enhance patient care. Key to this was building a platform for ongoing feedback, to help empower patients to share concerns and questions openly.

“Our goals for innovation at The Ottawa Hospital are to improve patient care, create a better experience for patients and staff, and enhance value in the health system,” says Kara Kitts, Director of Digital Innovation at The Ottawa Hospital. “The Digital Teammate has the potential to reduce administrative tasks for our staff and enhance the patient experience.”

As The Ottawa Hospital and Deloitte Canada continue advancing this solution, the vision is clear: unlock new levels of efficiency, compassion, and access by making AI a trusted enabler for patients and clinical professionals alike. The future of health care isn’t just digital—it’s personal, empathetic, and powered by collaboration.

Source: The Ottawa Hospital, “The Ottawa Hospital introduces AI-powered Digital Teammate to share information with staff, patients and visitors,” accessed 23 September 2024.