Duke Institute for Health Innovation Announces 2024 Innovation Awards

Duke Health leaders have selected seven high-potential innovation projects to be implemented as part of the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI)’s annual call for project ideas in “Generative AI & Large Language Models: AI Solutions to Improve Staff and Clinician Efficiency, Patient Journey and Outcomes.” In addition to providing funding for these projects, the DIHI team will work with various Duke Health and Duke University partners to provide access to data, analytics, statistical analysis, machine learning, and AI resources, while driving project and implementation management.

“Generative AI presents an unprecedented opportunity to advance quality of care and care delivery and decrease clinician burden,” said Michael Pencina, chief data scientist for Duke Health and vice dean for data science for the School of Medicine. “Building on its leadership in trustworthy health AI, Duke Health relied on the experience and proven track record of the DIHI team to harness the creativity of our clinical and research teams to identify and implement some of the most promising innovations that advance care, improve education and reduce burden.” 

"We are thrilled to announce these groundbreaking Generative AI and Large Language Model projects,” said Jeff Ferranti, senior vice president and chief digital officer for Duke Health.  “At Duke Health, we are committed to harnessing the latest advancements in technology and data science to empower our staff, streamline patient experiences, and ultimately, achieve even better healthcare outcomes. These projects represent a significant step forward in our journey of continuous innovation.

2024 DIHI Innovation Projects: Principal Innovators and team

AI-Powered Knowledge Management System and Training Module

  • Michael Kent, MD, Assoc VC of Perioperative Informatics, Duke Anesthesiology
  • Padma Gulur, MD, Exec VC for Performance & Operations, Duke Anesthesiology
  • Katy Clark, RN, Assistant Nurse Manager, ASC OR
  • Erin Hamtil, RN, Nurse Manager, ASC Administration

Automating Oncology Patient Access and Elevating the Patient Experience

  • Emily Norboge, MD, Pediatrician, Durham Pediatrics, Duke Primary Care
  • Matthew Engelhard, MD, PhD, Asst Professor, Duke TRN Biomed Informatics
  • Robin Famiglietti, Administrator & Assoc Dean, DCI
  • Jennifer Kennedy-Stovall, Director of Operations, DCI
  • Warren Kibbe, PhD, Chief of TRN Biomed Informatics, Chief Data Officer for DCI
  • Ton Wang, MD, MS, Asst Professor of Surgery, Surgical Oncology

Automating Patient Connection for Health-Related Social Needs

  • Eugenia McPeek Hinz, MD, MS, Assoc Chief Health Officer & Sr Dir IT, DHTS
  • Susan Spratt, MD, Sr Medical Director, Population Health Management Office
  • Tara Kinard, DNP, MSN, MBA, Assoc Chief Nursing Officer, PHMO
  • Katie Flanagan, MSW, Asst Vice President for Care Coordination, DUHS CNE

Clinical Education Dashboards using LLMs to improve education at Duke

  • Joel Boggan, MD, Assoc Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
  • Eugenia McPeek Hinz, MD, MS, Assoc Chief Health Officer & Sr Dir IT, DHTS
  • Saumil Chudgar, MD, MSEd – Hospital Medicine
  • Deborah Engle, EdD, MS, Asst Dean of Assessment and Evaluation, Duke SOM
  • John Haws, PhD, Data Analytics Technical Director, Duke OIT
  • John Herr, BFA, Sr Data Engineer, Duke OIT
  • Aditee Narayan, MD, Assoc Dean for Curricular Affairs, Duke SOM
  • Aimee K. Zaas, MD, MHS, Program Director, Duke Internal Medicine Residency
  • Tingrui Zhao, MD, Medical Instructor, Duke SOM

Implementing an AI-Powered CTICU Handover Summarization Tool

  • Sachin Mehta, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
  • Michael Kent, MD, Assoc. VC of Perioperative Informatics, Duke Anesthesiology
  • Mihai Podgoreanu, MD, Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
  • Madhav Swaminathan, MD, MMCi, VC of Faculty Affairs, Duke Anesthesiology 

Matching Transplant Donors to Recipients using Generative AI/LLM

  • Stuart Knechtle, MD, Exec Director, Duke Transplant Center (DTC)
  • Kristen Lott, MSN, Quality Assurance Process Improvement Coordinator, DTC
  • Andrew Barbas, MD, Hepatobiliary Transplant Surgeon, Duke School of Medicine
  • Matthew Ellis, MD, Medical Director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program

Using AI for Surgery Pre-Authorization

  • Alison Toth, MD, Exec VC, Duke Orthopaedic Surgery
  • John Bonini, Director of Clinical Operations, Duke Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Marcus Strickland, MPH, Strategic Services Associate, Duke Health Admin

Using AI to Reduce the Burden of Prior Authorizations

  •   Deborah Kaye, MD, MS, Urologic Oncologist and Duke-Margolis Center Faculty
  •   Joanna Kipnes, MD, MS, Assoc CMO and Medical Director of Utilization Management, PRMO

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