Independent Alliance formed to Drive Smart Hospital Advancement

The Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence to host the Smart Hospital Maturity Model survey

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To illuminate and accelerate the creation of smart hospitals through the adoption and use of advanced technologies, processes, and practices, the Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence (the Alliance) has been established. The Alliance will house the Smart Hospital Maturity Model (SMHH), originally conceived by care.ai, now a part of Stryker, and developed with assistance from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

"Our vision when we launched the SHMM earlier this year was for industry leaders to help define the smart hospital and subsequently assess current state and align on the journey ahead across peer health systems", said Chakri Toleti, Founder & CEO of care.ai, now Vice President of Digital Innovation at Stryker.  "To optimize adoption and ensure comprehensive objectivity, we are excited for this vision to be fulfilled through this new, independent, nonprofit organization".

The Alliance will launch under the leadership of healthcare executives H. Stephen Lieber, as its CEO, with Toleti and industry veteran Bruce Brandes joining as founding Board members.

The SHMM was developed this year through the guidance and input from a national, blue-ribbon committee of healthcare management, technology and clinical professionals. The survey which drives the model itself is now widely available through the Alliance to hospitals seeking to assess their level of smart care adoption. Developed by a national panel of experts in healthcare, management, and technology, the survey consists of 89 questions and evaluates three critical domains: Humans (patients, clinicians, and support staff), Environments (clinical care spaces), and Processes (workflow optimization).

"It is important that the Smart Hospital Maturity Model (SHMM) is vendor agnostic and free of commercial influence," said Lieber, former CEO of HIMSS and former Chief Analytics Officer of CHIME. "The SHMM is an important tool for healthcare providers to understand where they are on the journey to smart healthcare, and it is critical that this tool be viewed as an independent effort."

To date, over 170 hospitals have completed the survey, which is now open to any health system interested in evaluating its technological readiness and position within the Smart Hospital Maturity Model. Preliminary results from the survey are being shared today at the CHIME Fall Forum in San Diego.

"Many health system leaders are increasingly confused by the industry noise around AI and other rapidly emerging technologies. This new alliance will help us all begin to define a smart care facility and how institutions can pinpoint opportunities to progress towards an integrated experience for patients and providers," said Roberta Schwartz, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Houston Methodist.

The Alliance aims to unite healthcare providers and industry partners to accelerate advancements in smart care technologies. It will develop professional resources to support the implementation, adoption, and utilization of these technologies, to improve care delivery and optimize hospital operations nationwide.

Additional board members are being recruited as well as a Board of Advisors to offer expert guidance, foster fundraising and awareness efforts, elevate its public profile, and provide insights into emerging industry trends.

Registration to complete the SHMM survey is now available at smarthospital.ai.

About The Alliance:
The Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence is an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on advancing healthcare through the adoption and use of smart healthcare technologies, practices, and processes. For more information about the Alliance, please visit smarthospital.ai.

SOURCE Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence