IMC fuels self-care recommendations with Infermedica
> 60%
of users adhered to the care recommendation
55%
of users followed our self-care recommendation
25%
of users changed from urgent to primary care
Meet Institute of Mother and Child
The Institute of Mother and Child (IMC), a specialty clinic focused on difficult medical cases involving women and children, sought a digital solution for early patient support. The institute decided to implement a symptom checker to engage patients while also reducing the load on physicians, nurses and medical receptionists.
IMC is an academic and research institution with over 70 years of experience. The institute is dedicated to addressing the health challenges that mothers, children, and adolescents face and has earned distinguished recognition both in Poland and internationally.
The challenge: Minimizing unnecessary visits to serve over 100k patients a year
While helping over 14,000 patients annually during hospitalizations, the specialists at IMC expertly navigate the intricacies of the most challenging medical cases, providing mothers and children the opportunity to heal and thrive. Their renowned expertise also draws a variety of cases to specialist outpatient clinics, where approximately 100,000 medical consultations are provided every year.
The priority health problems dealt with by IMC are:
- cancer in children and adolescents
- prematurity and low birth weight
- other developmental disorders
- perinatal infections
- diseases related to environment and lifestyle
- psychosocial development disorders
Motivated by the unique needs of pediatric patients and expectant mothers, IMC initiated The Mother and Child Startup Challenge, a project that brought together public healthcare providers with a shared goal: using innovative medical technologies to promote longevity and health.
68 companies participated in the challenge to promote new and innovative healthcare solutions, with Infermedica winning one of the highest prizes - a one-year pilot program with IMC. One of the solutions that IMC sought was a tool enabling navigation among patients with diseases that do not require hospitalization and pointing them in the right direction to obtain help within the network of public healthcare providers.
See the real-live demo of solutions presented in this story!
The solution: AI empowering and supporting patients
In July 2023, following a meticulous process that involved defining and collecting requirements, establishing goals, and integrating them within the clinic’s environment, Infermedica seamlessly integrated its symptom checker into IMC’s home page.
Recognizing the importance of effective communication for the success and optimal utilization of the symptom checker, IMC collaborated closely with Infermedica in this process of implementation and further communication of the new tool.
Step 1
User can find symptom checker on homepage and subpages
1 — 6
Step 2
Dedicated landing page explains symptom checker and allows to start interview
2 — 6
Step 3
User can run interview for themselves or their relatives
3 — 6
Step 4
Interview asks questions based on initial symptoms provided by the user
4 — 6
Step 5
User can find symptom checker on homepage and subpages
5 — 6
Step 6
User can see common care methods, download results or book a visit
6 — 6
Infermedica’s symptom checker offers clear and understandable explanations of symptoms, enabling our patients to make more informed decisions about their health. This is one of the key advantages of increasing patients' access to medical information. In my opinion, it is important to provide patients with sources of knowledge about their symptoms consistent with current medical knowledge, so that they do not base it on results found in Internet search engines. The integration of Infermedica’s symptom checker with our website went smoothly, which significantly facilitated the implementation process.
Tomasz Maciejewski
MD, PhD, Director of the Institute of Mother and Child
Results: Over 60% of patients followed the care recommendations
Over 1.6k interviews were finished within the first few months, allowing patients to confidently make informed decisions about their health needs. Over 60% of patients reported that they would follow the triage recommendations. The symptom checker’s usage has been growing monthly as well, showing notable adoption.
The symptom checker has also shown a strong potential in cost savings and the ability to alleviate the pressure off of urgent care services by effectively triaging patients to the most suitable care level. Notably, 25% of users initially planning to visit urgent care opted for primary care instead while 55% adhered to a self-care recommendation. Additionally, 19.2% of patients who initially considered home care were directed to specialized care by the symptom checker, allowing for the early detection of specialist needs.
0.6k
interviews finished by users
0.2%
of pediatric checkups directed to consultation
>0%
of users chose our recommended care level
0%
of users changed from urgent care to primary care
0.2%
of users changed self-care to specialized care
0.9%
of users are female between 18-44
...I am satisfied with the results of the symptom checker implementation by Infermedica in our Institute of Mother and Child and I see real benefits for patients. I am convinced that in the course of further development, the company has the potential to improve the tool and expand the scope of its activities.
Tomasz Maciejewski
MD, PhD, Director of the Institute of Mother and Child
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