Virtual Patient Advocate Cuts Hospital Readmissions & Costs at Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center is testing a software program with an animated virtual patient advocate, called “Louise,” to automate discharge planning and information sharing with patients. Louise is a hospital bedside patient education system designed to deliver the After Hospital Care Plan (AHCP) discharge protocols developed by the Project Re-Engineered Hospital Discharge (Project RED) team. Project RED is a research group at Boston University Medical Center. Compared to traditional discharge planning, a 2008 study found that the Project RED discharge protocols reduced hospital and emergency department readmissions within 30-days by about 30%, which reduced costs per patient by $412 . . .