Artificial Intelligence in healthcare is one of the most significant technological advancements of our time. Around the world, healthcare technology companies are racing to leverage AI to improve patient care, reduce administrative burdens, and generate meaningful insights for medical professionals.
At ESO, a technology company dedicated to improving community health and safety through the power of data, software developers, including those based in Belfast, are working on cutting-edge AI solutions that could transform healthcare operations.
“Artificial Intelligence is on the verge of helping clinicians transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, to how healthcare resources are managed. We’re here to tackle the healthcare resourcing challenge,” said John Fitzsimons, Director of Engineering at ESO. “Our goal with this feature is to reduce the documentation burden on healthcare professionals, so they can focus on what matters most, patient care.”
READ MORE: ESO celebrates five years in Belfast with roundtable event
While much of ESO’s work is focused on the US healthcare system, the innovations being developed have broader implications for how data and AI can shape the future of healthcare globally.
Automating patient narratives with AI
One of ESO’s latest innovations is an Auto-Generated Narrative feature, designed to help healthcare providers document patient interactions more efficiently. In fast-paced medical settings, such as emergency medical services, clinicians often have limited time to input detailed notes while prioritising urgent patient care.
This AI-powered feature integrates into ESO’s Electronic Health Record (EHR), extracting discrete data points entered into the record by providers, analysing the information, and generating a comprehensive written narrative.
"Before providers were tasked with manually reviewing and analysing the data they'd previously entered into the patient care report, leading to additional time away from caring for their patients,” said Fitzsimons. “This not only reduces the risk of duplicate data entry but also ensures that critical information is captured accurately, consistently and quickly.”
The first phase of this feature focuses on creating structured, easy-to-read reports that summarise patient care. Right now, AI-generated documentation is designed for cases where emergency responders transport patients and need to hand off important medical information to hospital staff.
Why it matters
Accuracy is key. In emergency situations, first responders and medical professionals often work under extreme pressure. By leveraging AI to create the patient care narrative and standardise patient data, ESO’s technology aims to reduce administrative workloads while improving documentation quality.
Beyond immediate patient care, research entities like ESO’s own research team can also take this structured data and analyse it at a national level to identify trends and drive improvements. One example of this is ESO’s annual Trauma Index, which highlights key trends in hospital care, such as the percentage of patients requiring blood transfusions and the efficiency of emergency interventions.
“In medicine and particularly in trauma—where every second counts—standardised data, metrics and benchmarks are critical in helping clinicians evaluate performance and drive improvement,” said Eric Beck, DO, MPH, EMT-P, president and CEO of ESO. “Our goal at ESO is to share best practices and continue to empower the entire care team using outcomes to enhance the quality of care.”
While this specific benchmarking tool is designed for U.S. systems, the principles of standardised data, performance metrics, and evidence-based decision-making are universally applicable to healthcare systems worldwide.
Driving innovation from Belfast
ESO’s Belfast-based team of software engineers, data scientists, and product developers play a crucial role in building and refining these AI-driven solutions. Their expertise in healthcare technology contributes to the broader mission of leveraging data to improve patient care and provider efficiency.
While AI-driven healthcare solutions are still evolving, the work being done at ESO highlights how technology can be a force for good in medicine, reducing the burden on frontline healthcare workers and ensuring better outcomes for patients.
READ MORE: ESO marks five years in Belfast with two new site leads
For those in Northern Ireland looking to work in health-tech, ESO offers opportunities to be part of this exciting transformation, where data, AI, and innovation intersect to improve community health and safety.
ESO's Auto-Generated Narratives for ESO's Electronic Health Records (EHR) are currently in development. The feature is being tested with a small cohort, with plans to launch to ESO's full customer base later this year.
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