Following the award winning film “To Err is Human“, Tall Tale productions’ Director Mike Eisenberg has released the trailer for a new patient safety documentary called “The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation”. With a “Healthcare Simulation Industry” Premiere at SimGHOSTS 2024 this August, The Pitch should have all healthcare simulation educators and clinical staff considering how to work alongside technology companies to improve patient care. Funded by The Jewish Healthcare Foundation, The Pitch reveals examples of unprecedented healthcare safety innovations with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The statistics are fairly grim, as one in every four patients is harmed in the USA health system due to medical errors. The focus of this film is around how new technologies like AI, Machine Learning, XR, healthcare simulation and Command Center HQs can be used to improve patient safety and ultimately save lives. This article by Erin Carn-Bennett, MN, RN, will demonstrate why watching the trailer of this upcoming film by healthcare simulation professionals is a “must-watch”!
The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation Film Says What Most Feel
“The Pitch” is a documentary that explores technology advances to protect patients and detect risks of unintended harm in the healthcare environment. The Pitch also demonstrates the huge importance of collaboration between both those in and out of the healthcare environment. The film shows creative ways that innovators are able to bring technology into health care to improve the system for all at every point.
The director of “The Pitch” Mike Eisenberg also directed the first film in this series “To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary” (2018). The Pitch demonstrates some unique yet impactful solutions to the current upsurge in medical errors not just within America but also worldwide. Local experts are interviewed and recent technology breakthroughs are shown in the film.
After watching an early press screening of the film, HealthySimulation.com Founder/CEO Lance Baily shared “The Pitch is a powerful film which shows us how passionate innovators can improve healthcare and patient safety outcomes through the power of new technologies like AI, machine learning, clinical simulation, extended reality, command center HQs, and more. Everyone interested in improving the lives of healthcare providers and patients, reducing medical errors and wasteful costs, as well as boosting clinical, educational, and training outcomes should experience The Pitch!”.
Individual Stories of Innovation Shed Light on Technology Innovation in Healthcare
One young innovator’s journey into medicine and then diversion into innovation and start up is shown. The Pitch offers both optimism and also motivation for the future of patient safety the world over. The multiple layers of business in medicine are seen in the film. The immense effort required to break new innovations into healthcare is shown. The Pitch speaks to all staff in healthcare currently. The frustration and also the fear of technology which is advancing faster than ever is ever felt currently throughout the industry.
Healthcare technology systems seem to be more behind than forward in most cases. Multiple platforms and systems in healthcare that are not able to talk to one another are often wasted opportunities to save lives. The swiss cheese model often attributes to teams missing critical pieces of clinical information which ultimately impacts patient safety through ineffective workings. AI technology has the ability to counter these phenomena and have teams work more effectively and safely together.
View the LEARN CE/CME Platform Webinar Current and Future Trends in Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Simulation to learn more!
The Pitch demonstrates in a positive light, multiple examples of just how far behind healthcare is at working alongside technological advancements and AI to improve both team and patient safety. The Pitch demonstrates multiple examples of technological advancements which could save healthcare workers hours of time and also improve patient safety. Healthcare is missing out on revolutionary and life saving technology which is readily available now.
The learners of today do not want to be lectured. Learners of today have grown up surrounded by technology and engage with technology regularly from an early age. With the introduction of healthcare simulation times have changed in the education space significantly over the past twenty or so years. Instead of “see one, do one, teach one” as historical educational methodologies were, with clinical simulation there are at least three “practice ones” inserted after “see one”. Learners of today want the environment to practice and practice until they get their craft right. Technology solutions and also healthcare simulation offer promise and space for this to continue to grow and expand within healthcare.
The Clinical Learner of Today has Different Needs with Technology
Healthcare simulation has made huge advancements with technology to assist in the healthcare education space. Learners want to have fun while being educated with modalities such as escape rooms. The incorporation of serious gaming into healthcare education has also occurred with the introduction of VR headsets and other technology based platforms. Set up costs are at the forefront of technology based education, however longer term demonstrate lower costs overall due to the ability to reuse and also customize the technology to individuals needs.
Technology is able to enhance healthcare with the ability to give back time to healthcare staff. By connection of dots with the assistance of technology there can be focus made on points required. There is a huge requirement for clinicians and technology experts to collaborate. This collaboration can assist to weave all the technology together to enhance and embed useability at every point.
Pamela Boyers associate vice chancellor of clinical simulation at iEXCEL backs this up with the quote: “Simulation in healthcare has been around some fifteen or twenty years. What we are seeing is an evolution of simulation. Patient safety has a tremendous amount to do with effective team functioning. These immersive environments allow a place to practice and experiment around everything that has to do with patient care.”
Artificial Intelligence has a Number of Ways to Assist Healthcare and Improve Safety
AI can be used by healthcare workers to read and organize data at high speeds. This is especially relevant in regards to research related data mining and the time that AI is able save those working in healthcare. AI has the ability to take data and create reports in a minuscule amount of time.
AI based technology is already within cars and assists the driver with blind spots. In some models the car will not only alarm in regards to a blind spot but also course correct the vehicle to safety. There is a huge opportunity for AI based technologies in healthcare to assist with blind spots that will save patients lives and also increase patient safety in a number of ways.
Disruption with technology can have a huge human impact in so many ways. However, true innovation will only occur with collaboration between healthcare professionals and technology leads. Instead of a focus on fear and security risks there needs to be a pivot to see the pitch of technology as hope for healthcare in the future. AI is already used in numerous environments external to healthcare, the time to integrate and innovate is now.
Resistance to change is guaranteed. As with any new innovation and technology there are early and late adopters to technological advancements. Healthcare and in particular healthcare simulation is the perfect environment for AI and technology based advancements to be either trialed or used as a vehicle for introduction.
The Pitch is both an incredibly emotive and also motivating film for those who work within the healthcare education and patient centered space. For clinical simulation based staff this film demonstrates a number of different AI and VR based technology examples that have reached integration into healthcare. These examples encourage us to examine what roadblocks are in place for this type of technology to be in the hands that need the technology the most. As healthcare simulation educators, there needs to be consideration for how clinical simulation can be a vehicle to move through these roadblocks and assist both clinical staff and also patients.
Reetam Ganguli the creator of Elythea states as a final consideration: “I really think we need people who think differently about problems in the medical space to go and work alongside clinicians who encounter these problems on a day to day basis. The true source of the next generation of innovation will come from these collaborations and these nexus points.”
Watch the film this August at SimGHOSTS or stay tuned for the film’s full screening schedule, which is coming soon to a streaming platform and a city near you!
