The New York Times: Loving Hearts

The New York Times published a special supplement this week for Philips Health Systems called “Loving Hearts: How Innovation Is Reducing Costs and Improving Cardiac Care in Hospitals and Beyond.”

Several of the articles about heart health and innovation include comments from leaders at Augusta University’s health system. Here is an excerpt:

In Georgia, Augusta University Medical Center and Philips Health Systems are extending the reach of advanced algorithms to paramedics and rural hospitals. The hope is that they will notice subtle changes and identify people who are on the verge of a major cardiac event even before the onset of chest pain, shortness of breath and other obvious symptoms.

“What we’re trying to do is understand what that ‘not quite right’ look might be from a combination of subtle factors and turn that into an alert saying something really is wrong here and you need to act as though something’s wrong,” said Dr. Kevin Dellsperger, chief medical officer.

The algorithms are also being incorporated in automated external defibrillators (AEDs) found in office buildings, athletic fields, shopping malls and airports around the world.

The New York Times: Loving Hearts: How Innovation Is Reducing Costs and Improving Cardiac Care in Hospitals and Beyond