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2026 AF Symposium
Spotlight Session—A Practical Guide to Using AI for Patient Remote Monitoring
Spotlight Session—A Practical Guide to Using AI for Patient Remote MonitoringIn the Spotlight Session–New and Emerging Technologies in EP, Dr. Babak Bozorgnia (Lehigh Valley Health Center, Allentown, PA) gave a presentation on using AI (Artificial Intelligence) in actual clinical practice entitled: “A Practical Guide to AI in EP Remote Monitoring: Workflow, Evidence, and Impact.”
Dr. Babak Bozorgnia, Clinical Dir. of Electrophysiology
His talk was unusual in that he did not promote a particular AI system or device, but rather explained in general the uses and advantages of AI to better help cardiac patients.
In Allentown, PA, there are 11 hospitals. In caring for their many cardiac patients, they use 8,000 devices (such as heart monitors) which all have to be monitored.
Dr Bozorgnia noted that in the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) 2023 guidelines recommended a staffing ratio of 3 staff per 1000 patients monitored remotely.
Implementing Remote Monitoring
In 2019 the Allentown hospitals implemented remote monitoring.
At the Lehigh Valley Health Center/Electrophysiology, they had 10 in-house staff to do this work They prioritized monitoring daily transmissions.
Current Workflow Problems: The EP staff were overwhelmed with data. With the crush of data, they were unable to consistently maintain services such as billing and scheduling.
Once a staff member identified an “actionable alert” [a patient with a serious problem], a doctor had to review the transmitted data. Another problem was too many mis-transmissions.
Impact: Staff and doctors were getting burned out sifting through so much information.
They had found that they were failing to properly serve patients.
Turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI)
They then turned to AI platforms and systems. Once implemented, they found AI helped in the following ways:
• Determining “actionable alerts” versus “noise”.
• Success rate in identifying actionable alerts rose to 90% with 40% reduction in non-actionable alerts.
• Improved data accuracy for better patient care.
• Improved early detection of patient problems.
• Huge time saving and reduction in tedious staff work.
• Doctors no longer required to sift through massive amounts of transmitted data.
• Major reduction in burn-out among both staffers and doctors.
• Billing efficiency improved from 67% to 94%.
• Revenue for hospitals has increased.
AI Reduces Noise but Not Responsibility
Dr. Bozorgnia stressed that while AI reduces “noise,” it does not reduce responsibility.
It does not replace staff and doctors but supports them. It bolsters and sustains their decision-making and risk identification.
The “high alerts” they now receive better identify the patients in need.
Doctors Encouraged to Do Their Own Research to Find the Best AI System for Their Needs
The purpose of Dr. Bozorgnia’s talk was to encourage medical centers to consider use of AI systems. He did not advocate for a particular system. In fact, he wouldn’t identify which AI platform he uses, but said he would talk with anyone who called him.
Editor’s Comments
Editor’s CommentsAI Important New Tool: You’re probably wondering why I would write a report on a technical, logistics topic. It’s because Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an important and effective tool in helping doctors take care of us. This is only one example of how AI today helps doctors and patients.
Improving Remote Monitoring Saves Lives: Improved remote monitoring is a tremendous benefit to us patients. With their AI system, Dr. Bozorgnia reports that Allentown hospitals can rapidly and consistently identify cardiac patients with serious problems and provide proper treatment. Good remote monitoring also works for routine and daily care.
FYI: If you want to call him, I only have the general number at Lehigh Valley Health Center: 888-402-5846.
