Tampa General Hospital’s care command center, CareComm, photographed on July 20, 2023.

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) serves as an economic engine, entrepreneurial focal point and academic center of excellence driving innovation across Tampa Bay and beyond. As Florida’s leading academic health system for more than 50 years, and one of the largest hospitals in America, TGH combines education, research and clinical care that leverages cutting-edge technologies, and deploys innovative approaches to provide next-generation therapies and treatment.

One TGH program that exemplifies the use of cutting-edge technology and innovation to measurably improve patient care is CareComm. Launched in 2019, CareComm utilizes 20 artificial intelligence (AI) applications to ensure the most efficient use of its staff and resources. The system helps coordinate the various departments and personnel across the hospital to reallocate staff, adjust rotations, keep communication open, and prevent the siloing of patients and their treatment.

Within the first two years of its launch, CareComm reduced the length of hospital stays by half a day, removed 20,000 excess days and generated $40 million in savings by eliminating redundancies and other inefficiencies. Additionally, the program has helped TGH operate at maximum occupancy, has decreased average length of stays from 6.2 to 5.7 days and has reduced emergency room diversion by 25% for the Level I Trauma Center. These improvements equate to 30 beds of additional capacity. Most of all, it means patients are receiving more effective, efficient care.

Within the past year, TGH further scaled this technology to develop an early warning and management system for sepsis, a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to infection. The sepsis early warning and management system saved more than 50 lives within the first six months of use. “Health systems often suffer from patients having episodes of ill-coordinated care. To mitigate that, we are harnessing a combination of process, technology and health care professionals to help navigate patients through their health care journey, ensuring there is always someone there to help guide and support them,” said Scott Arnold, executive vice president, CIO and chief of innovation for TGH.

CareComm is a testament to technology’s increasing influence in how TGH delivers care. The program’s blend of data sources and intelligence creates a treatment road map that can be easily understood by the CareComm Command Center’s multidisciplinary team. The next step, according to Arnold, is to become predictive in nature — identifying potential risks and taking the appropriate actions to prevent further illness before it happens.

As TGH works to bring the highest-quality care possible to Florida, the organization launched its TGH at Home program in 2022. Dr. Peter Chang, senior vice president and chief transformation officer at TGH, explained the concept: “We want to base our services in the home because it further puts the patient at the center of care. The home is where the patient has their support system, which makes it a critical component of providing customized care. In this instance, the patient gets the highest-quality care that would be available in the hospital, but the delivery point is their very own living room.”

TGH also continues to invest in innovative technologies, products and strategies that will allow it to maximize its impact and care. The TGH Ventures initiative provides the academic health system with the opportunity to help bring new technologies and investments to scale. “We not only invest in startups but also have experience in forming joint ventures with private equity firms,” explained Jennifer Crabtree, TGH’s vice president of corporate communications and chief of staff. “It’s important to note that our approach is not one-size-fits-all. We carefully consider each opportunity and never reject possibilities outright. Instead, we ask ourselves, ‘How can we make this work?’ We believe in finding creative solutions and forging strong partnerships.”

For more information about how TGH is leading health care innovation and improving patient care, visit TGH.org.