Artificial Intelligence in the Geriatric Emergency Department: Bringing Interventions Into Practice (AGEM-Sponsored)

The Emergency Department plays a crucial role in addressing public health needs for older adults, but challenges like hospital crowding and boarding limit comprehensive geriatric screening. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a promising solution by enhancing workflows without diverting staff from patient care. This session will use a case study to highlight the limitations of traditional geriatric screening and explore opportunities for AI integration. We will also discuss implementing human-centered strategies and how AI aligns with Geriatric Emergency Department Guidelines. By the end, participants will gain a deeper understanding of AI's potential to improve care for older adults in the ED.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Identify the limitations of conventional geriatric screening approaches in the ED setting.
  • Evaluate the potential of AI-assisted tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of geriatric screenings.
  • Discuss human-centered implementation strategies to integrate AI solutions into existing ED workflows.
  • Anticipate future developments in AI applications for geriatric emergency care in line with established guidelines.

Presenters: 

  • Adrian D. Haimovich, MD, PhD
  • Brian W. Patterson, MD, MPH
  • Christopher R. Carpenter, MD
Authors

  • Adrian D. Haimovich, MD, PhD

    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School

    Dr. Adrian Haimovich is Director of Geriatric Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research is at the intersection between data science, electronic health records, and geriatric acute care.

  • Brian W. Patterson, MD, MPH

    BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Dr. Patterson is a tenured associate professor. He serves as Administrative Director for Clinical AI at UW Health and Medical Director for Predictive Analytics on the UW Health Informatics teams. In these roles, Dr. Patterson works with hospital leadership to define artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, governance, and development. He has led efforts to develop predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, as well as large language model (LLM) tools that have improved patient care and provider well-being.

    In addition to his administrative roles, Dr. Patterson runs an active research program within the Department of Emergency Medicine, where he directs the Emergency Care Systems Lab. His personal research interests are in clinical informatics and geriatric emergency medicine. Through his work, Dr. Patterson aims to generate actionable using routinely collected clinical data to improve the quality and safety of emergency care for older adults. To achieve these goals, Dr. Patterson works in collaboration with investigators across UW–Madison, including the Wisconsin School of Business, College of Engineering, and the Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics. His current work focuses on automated risk scoring to identify older adults at high risk for falling after emergency department visits and automating referral to interventions to prevent future falls.

  • Christopher R. Carpenter, MD

    Mayo Clinic, Rochester

    Dr. Christopher Carpenter is residency trained in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair of Implementation and Innovation at Mayo Clinic-Rochester. He served on the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Board of Directors from 2019-2022 and continues to serve on the American College of Emergency Physicians Clinical Policy Committee. His research interests include diagnostics, geriatric emergency medicine, clinical practice guidelines, and implementation science. Dr. Carpenter is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Academic Emergency Medicine, as well as Associate Editor for both the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and Annals of Internal Medicine's ACP Journal Club. He co-authored the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) Network's Standards for Reporting of Implementation Research (StaRI) reporting guidelines. Dr. Carpenter serves on the National Institute of Aging Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research Leadership Core (https://clin-star.org/) and also developed and leads the SAEM Guidelines for Reasonable and Appropriate Care in Emergency Departments (GRACE, see https://www.saem.org/publications/academic-emergency-medicine/grace) clinical practice guidelines. He is a co-Investigator and Implementation Science Core Lead for the Geriatric Emergency care Applied Research Network (GEAR, see https://gearnetwork.org/) and Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (https://gedcollaborative.com/), and he chairs the American College of Emergency Physician's Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation Advisory Board (https://www.acep.org/geda/). He is the recipient of multiple national awards including the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association Excellence in Teaching, as well as the Academy of Geriatric Emergency Medicine's (AGEM) Gerson-Sanders Award, the AGEM Mentorship Award, and the AGEM Pioneer Award.

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