Hackensack Meridian Health expands Google Health collaboration
The New Jersey health system will be deploying clinical AI and machine learning from Google Cloud, and will be transitioning to Google Workspace and Chrome OS devices enterprise-wide.
Hackensack Meridian Health announced this week that it will make a complete transition to Google Workspace and Chrome OS devices as one of the first health systems taking this path. It will also broaden its collaboration with Google Cloud to enable deployment of more artificial intelligence tools for clinical decision support and enhanced care delivery.
WHY IT MATTERS
The goal of the expanded use of Workspace and Chrome OS, Chromebooks and Chromeboxes is to improve cybersecurity and boost provider productivity and user experience, said Hackensack Meridian Leaders.
Its work with Google Cloud aims to apply AI-enabled insights to specific clinical use cases, such as screening and detection.
Among the areas it plans to prioritize first is newborn screenings, with an initiative using natural language processing and optical character recognition to send providers automatic notifications of test results and to expedite access to a newborn patient’s screening results and medical information.
Mammography screenings and prostate cancer screenings are also an early focus, including the use of machine learning to conduct secondary screenings, possibly catch issues undetected by a provider and understand specific factors to enable a more personalized oncology treatment.
The AI and ML models will also be used for sepsis detection and COVID-19 detection and research.
“Hackensack Meridian Health is always looking for new and innovative ways we can utilize technology to transform the patient experience,” said Hackensack Meridian CEO Robert C. Garrett. “Through our collaboration with Google, we are enhancing patient care and improving health outcomes.
“Google Chrome Enterprise will continue to allow our team members to work from home, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver convenient access to high quality care during challenging times, while keeping patients and team members secure.”
THE LARGER TREND
Hackensack Meridian Health, which hired Kash Patel as its new chief information and digital engagement officer earlier this month, has been using Chrome Enterprise over the past year, with 3,000 Citrix-equipped Chromebooks deployed to give its remote workforce secure access to its core applications. That includes clinicians conducting telehealth consults, which increased more than twentyfold since the pandemic began.
Officials at Hackensack Meridian – which has had a number of mergers in recent years and is seeking approval for more – note that “Chrome OS is making it much simpler to consolidate 11 different Active Directory forests into a single domain.”
ON THE RECORD
“This partnership provides the opportunity to transform care for thousands of patients,” said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Hackensack Meridian Health team, as we further our joint efforts to develop innovative services that will push care to the next level.”
“Together, we will improve patient care, treatment precision and clinical outcomes of diseases, while increasing efficiencies that can help physicians devote more time to life-saving research and patient care,” added Dr. Daniel W. Varga, chief physician executive at Hackensack Meridian Health.
