Urgences-santé Capitalizes on Artificial Intelligence to Optimize Prehospital Care

MONTREAL, Sept. 12, 2024 /CNW/ – Urgences-santé, the public organization providing pre-hospital emergency services in Quebec, in collaboration with Airudi, a Canadian SME specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, has unveiled an innovative AI-powered project to optimize the prediction, management, and allocation of the paramedical workforce.

Facing an increase in prehospital care demands, Quebec’s emergency services are under growing pressure. Urgences-santé provides paramedical care to 2.5 million people in Montreal and Laval, receiving approximately 1,000 calls daily, accounting for about 36% of ambulance requests in Quebec. This demand, projected to increase by 10% by 2033 due to the aging population in the Montreal and Laval health regions, adds additional pressure on paramedics’ workload.

By partnering with Airudi, Urgences-Santé has developed the MODUS platform. This AI-powered solution will help address challenges related to the planning and management of paramedical staff through better demand prediction.

The two organizations officially announced the project today in Montreal during ALL IN, the largest event dedicated to Canada’s AI.

Real-time prediction of prehospital service demands

“We are equipping paramedics and their managers with extremely powerful tools to predict demand using AI. By analyzing a vast dataset that would be difficult for a person to process as efficiently, our AI solution will better manage human resources, optimizing staff allocation and emergency response. This translates to more efficient care services, benefiting the entire population,” said Amanda Arciero, Co-founder and Vice-President of Operations at Airudi.

The MODUS platform leverages historical data, real-time information, available resources, and other factors influencing demand, such as local demographics, weather, and road conditions.

A sophisticated algorithm will integrate these elements to develop a call volume prediction model, optimizing workforce planning and proposing optimal deployment scenarios to meet expected service levels while complying with existing laws and agreements.

“Thanks to AI and its algorithms, we are developing a new decision-support tool for our managers. In addition to the existing dashboards at the Operations Management Centre, we now have an intelligent dashboard that will allow us to monitor real-time prehospital service levels and predict demand in the long, medium, and short term,” said François Charpentier, President and CEO of Urgences-santé. “By ensuring the visionary development of prehospital care, we are improving services to the population and the working conditions of paramedics and managers.”

Towards modernizing the paramedical sector in Canada

MODUS will be gradually deployed over the coming months. Urgences-Santé and Airudi are committed to sharing key insights with health ecosystem partners so they can learn and invest in optimizing and modernizing their practices.

“We are pleased with the preliminary results we are observing, as well as the efficiency improvements,” said Marc Plamondon, Vice-President and General Manager of the Health Division at Airudi. “We are currently discussing with other major players in the paramedical sector across Quebec and Canada, who have expressed strong interest in benefiting from a similar solution.”

MODUS required an investment of $2.3 million, of which $1.5 million was funded by SCALE AI, Canada’s global AI innovation cluster.

About Urgences-santé Corporation

The Corporation d’urgences-santé is Quebec’s largest emergency medical service and reports to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. It employs more than 1,700 people, including more than 1,000 paramedics and more than 100 emergency medical dispatchers who serve the citizens of Montreal and Laval (2.5 million inhabitants).

About Airudi

Founded in 2019, Airudi has become a key player in designing and delivering artificial intelligence solutions. Airudi’s top HR specialists and AI experts, including one of the world’s leading software engineering researchers, develop data-driven decision support solutions to optimize operational efficiency and human resources management and refocus people at the heart of organizations. Today, more than 5,000 companies in Quebec and worldwide use Airudi solutions. The company offers innovative solutions to help organizations meet their personnel management, recruitment, occupational health and safety, and workforce planning challenges, making significant contributions in various sectors, including healthcare, transport, mining and manufacturing. For more information, visit www.airudi.com.

SOURCE Airudi