Getinge announced today that it launched the Torin AI-based operation room management system in the U.S.
Sweden-based Getinge’s Torin software uses AI to quickly and seamlessly improve the speed and efficiency of scheduling surgical procedures. The platform launched in 2020.
The company today introduced a new suite of advanced functions for the platform, expanding its capabilities in key areas, including predicting surgery times, managing waitlists and data security, according to a news release.
“The new capabilities now available with Torin are specifically designed to help hospitals and surgery centers address many areas that are major challenges, including accurate assessments of surgery times, scheduling and waitlist management, applications of mobile devices and data security requirements based on their specific pre-requisites,” Getinge VP of integrated workflow solutions Charlotte Enlund said in the release. “For long-term acute care facilities, which our study found to be extraordinarily challenged by surgical backlog, we are happy to offer support with Torin OptimalQ, our stand-alone tool, for quick relief in planning and optimizing the waiting list.”
Getinge said the system can produce highly accurate assessments of surgical procedure timing based on a range of variables, which include surgery type, patient data, relevant devices and staffing. The software can also rank pending procedures based on clinical and resource parameters, propose optimized pre-schedules and integrate the process with existing scheduling functionalities all in an effort to address scheduling backlogs, the company said.
“For almost 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, both surgeons and patients made decisions to defer many forms of surgery if possible. As more patients feel confident about considering surgery, demand to schedule procedures at all types of hospitals and surgery centers has exploded in recent months,” Getinge North America president Eric Honroth said. “While hospitals can take steps to hire more people and have staff work longer hours to address this backlog, they must also look at the most effective technology options to improve scheduling efficiency and utilization of resources.”
The company also announced the results of a survey of 60 senior executives and surgeons at U.S. hospitals that sought to examine the extent and impact of surgical backlogs developing as a result of increased patient demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Getinge said the survey found that 41% of hospitals experienced surgical backlog, with higher levels of delays reported in long-term acute care (60%) and outpatient surgery settings (53%). Additionally, 56% of hospitals said they plan to hire more staff and 52% plan to require staff to work more hours to address the backlog.
However, just 44% of the hospitals say they are using advanced digital tools that improve operating efficiencies and scheduling challenges in surgical settings, with merely 27% found in acute care.
“With thousands of patients facing delays in surgeries because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to improve scheduling efficiencies has never been more essential,” Honroth said. “Advances in AI technology can play a central role in a comprehensive plan to address these backlogs and can help to improve efficiency and lower costs for hospitals and surgery centers.”