While collecting blood, Versiti collects data. Versiti is a nonprofit founded in 1947 with the two goals of providing a sustainable blood supply to clinical settings and advancing research. Over the past 20 years, the company has tripled in size and provides blood to more than 400 hospitals. The company is now using AI and partnering with Lenovo to improve donor outreach and research.
On the blood donation side, Versiti tries to treat donors as well as a good clinician treats their patients. CIO Lynne Briggs says “we know who you are when you come in the door.” Versiti integrates the data from all its partners. CEO Chris Miskel says they get more than 300,000 blood donors every year, so they are using AI to improve engagement and “be more donor-centric.”
One simple application is AI-drive chat, but Justin T. Collier, MD, Healthcare CTO in North America at Lenovo mentions also the use of AI to automate documentation and mundane tasks such as engaging with insurers. He says that the value of AI makes it worthwhile to collect more data and keep it “forever.” AI can lead to meaningful insights and better research outcomes.
Briggs also cites the use of AI to analyze their donor base so they can adjust their messaging to reach key demographics and to personalize their outreach. She also mentioned that AI is useful in security.
On the research side, Miskel illustrates the use of AI through a bioinformatics project they led to seek more precise diagnoses and better treatments. Briggs says that NIH now expects the use of AI to find cures.
Briggs mentioned the logistical difficulties of collecting blood in corporate lounges, churches, college dining halls, etc. The technology needs to be rugged but easy to set up, so that it can’t get in staff’s way. Each setup is an “almost military operation.”
At the end, Collier mentions a few of the hot topics in health IT: digital twins, virtual reality, and gaming to entertain patients. Check out our interview with Versiti and Lenovo at the CES conference to learn more.
Learn more about Lenovo: https://techtoday.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/healthcare
Learn more about Versiti: https://versiti.org/
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