1. OSF launches a Digital Hospital at Home program-OSF HealthCare began using new models of care, including the launch of a new hospice-at-home program. Many patients who qualify have embraced the concept and feedback is that they enjoy receiving hospital-grade care in the comfort of their own home. Look for this to expand in the New Year.
2. OSF OnCall closes pregnancy and postpartum care gaps for Medicaid patients-This story highlights one of several remote patient monitoring programs launched under the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC) involving OSF and four federally qualified health centers. The initiative is a 5-year state-funded program to use the latest tools and telehealth, paired with digitally enabled community health workers and community organizations to create scalable solutions to improve access and quality of care. care.
3. A new vision for diabetic eye examinations in primary care offices– OSF health, like many other health systems, had a problem. Many diabetes patients do not undergo recommended annual eye exams to check for associated retinopathy – the number one cause of blindness in the US OSF Innovation researched and found a recently approved platform that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose retinopathy within minutes. To date, devices from Digital Diagnostics have found that 20% of primary care patients with OSF have some damage to the blood vessels leading to the retina.
4. OSF Innovation is gearing up to test the game’s concussion diagnosis app-If a so-called FlightPath app works as expected, it will diagnose a concussion within minutes by having users follow a hummingbird in flight and catch it by manipulating their screen and body. This story highlights how Dr. Adam Cross and his team of collaborative researchers are creating a game-changing app that could provide side-by-side diagnosis of sports-related concussions. There are many other settings where FlightPath can be used, including on the battlefield and in hospitals and nursing homes.
5. Development of an application to notify health professionals of medical misinformation on social media-This effort is a collaboration between OSF HealthCare, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the U of I College of Medicine in Peoria (UICOMP) where many health care providers are concerned about the harm to individual and community health caused by bad information that goes viral on social networks. Like the developing concussion app, this effort also received funding from ARCHES dance research and development program.
6. Using simulations to treat potentially fatal pregnancy-related hemorrhage and hypertension– Maternal mortality rates were in the headlines in 2022, and rightly so, because US rates are the highest of any developing country and research for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found evidence that 80% of deaths can were prevented. So OSF Innovation launched new training at each of its hospitals, using mannequin simulations that helped identify problems and reinforce best practices.
7. OSF HealthCare-Bradley University partners to solve urgent health care problems-This year, OSF doubled its academic partnerships and other collaborations. This latest formalized agreement, with Bradley University, will leverage the best and brightest for new innovations, including new medical devices, digital solutions, improved work processes and new service models. Look for more academic partnerships in 2023.
8. OSF Ventures poised to raise third and largest fund under new leadership– OSF Ventures inaugural leader Stan Lynall decided to step back into a part-time role as he eases into retirement, while Mayank Taneja, who was among the early members of a high-performing team, stepped into the position of vice president of entrepreneurial investments. Based on past success, including nine exits, OSF Ventures heads into 2023 ready to begin investing from its third and largest board-approved fund of $100 million.
9. OSF Innovation creates its own shark tank and partners with a startup studio-These are really two stories in one because they are part of an effort to develop an innovative mindset among OSF Mission Partners (employees) and create an ecosystem where those ideas can be tested; with the best resources given to be developed and eventually commercialized for use by OSF and other health systems.
10. Linking Chicago-area homelessness to health care support-OSF HealthCare strengthened collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) by establishing a Community Health Protection grant program with financial and other resources to support research and pilot projects. This story explains that one of the first pilot efforts will place iPad kiosks in two shelters to connect those experiencing homelessness with the UIC College of Pharmacy to obtain medications needed to manage chronic conditions.
