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Deepak Srikant

How AI Transformed Pulmonary Embolism Care at Cedars-Sinai: 5 Key Takeaways From the 10th Annual PERT Symposium

Care Coordination, Pulmonary Embolism, ROI, Workflow
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AI is rapidly reshaping how health systems identify, manage and treat complex conditions like pulmonary embolism (PE). At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the integration of an AI-driven pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) alert and care coordination system has transformed the clinical workflow for patients with high-risk PE. The results? Faster interventions, shorter ICU and hospital stays and significant cost savings.

Here are five key takeaways from the Cedars Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA) study presented at the 10th Annual PERT Symposium.

1. Faster Time to Activation, Faster Intervention

PE can be a life-threatening condition requiring timely intervention. The AI-based PERT alert system at Cedars-Sinai has helped reduce the time it took to activate the PERT team. According to Nate Mizraki, MD, radiologist at Cedars-Sinai, “The time to activate the PERT team was reduced by about three to four hours. That may not seem like much, but when you consider the urgency of PE treatment, even a few hours makes a huge difference.” 

The faster activation allowed for quicker interventions like mechanical thrombectomy, reducing complications and improving outcomes.

2. Shorter Stays, Improved Outcomes

Implementing AI led to significant reductions in patient stays. As the study showed, average ICU stays dropped from 13 days pre-AI to 10 days post-AI implementation–a 23% reduction. Total hospital stays also decreased by three days. Dr. Mizraki highlighted this impact: “Intervening earlier in the disease process made such a significant impact on prognosis. A few hours can translate into a three-day reduction in ICU stay. That’s huge.” 

This earlier intervention means patients recover faster and are at a lower risk of complications associated with prolonged hospitalization.

3. Substantial Cost Savings

The reduction in ICU and hospital stays not only improved patient care, but led to cost savings for the health system. The study calculated a cost savings of $10,500 per patient post-AI implementation. When extrapolated to the 48 thrombectomy procedures performed annually at Cedars-Sinai, that equates to $504,000 in total yearly savings.

Dr. Mizraki highlighted that while the initial savings shown in the study are promising, the long-term benefits could be even more substantial. He shared: “You know, this is still early research…but the fact that we were able to show this is pretty encouraging. Once we kind of have the data to support that the intervention is safe and effective in intermediate and high-risk patients, I think we’re going to be doing more and more thrombectomies. SO the savings can also be higher.”

4. AI Expanding Beyond PE

While this study focused primarily on pulmonary embolism, the potential applications of AI in other critical conditions are vast. Dr. Mizraki shared his enthusiasm for AI’s future in other domains: “We’ve shown that AI is helpful for PE, but that’s just one algorithm. It’s exciting to think about how AI could be applied to stroke, trauma and other clinical conditions.”

The implications of AI go far beyond PE, with the possibility of scaling these successes across various areas of emergency medicine.

5. A Growing Case for Mechanical Thrombectomy in PE

The study also highlights an evolving trend in PE management, particularly for intermediate-risk patients. “There’s still some debate about how to handle intermediate-risk PE,” explained Dr. Mizraki. “As more data from randomized controlled trials emerge, it’s looking like intervention, especially mechanical thrombectomy, will become more common.” 

This evolving understanding of PE treatment suggests that the AI-based PERT system’s benefits will only increase as more hospitals adopt mechanical thrombectomy and similarly advanced interventions.

AI and Physicians: Better Together Moving Forward

As Cedars-Sinai’s experience demonstrates, the use of AI in managing PE has yielded impressive results. Faster response times leading to shorter ICU stays and significant cost savings is just the beginning. Dr. Mizraki emphasized that AI isn’t a replacement for physicians, but a tool that improves efficiency and patient care. “For diagnostic radiology, the sky’s the limit. While we may still be interpreting studies now, AI is making that process faster and more accurate.”

The integration of AI into clinical workflows is already making a difference. As AI continues to advance, it holds the potential to improve outcomes in a variety of medical conditions, from stroke to trauma, ushering in a new era of precision medicine.

Click here to explore the impact of AI-driven care activation on clinical outcomes and clinical decision making for PE care.

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Deepak Srikant

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