Northwell Health Pilots, Invests in AI-Based Case Management Solution

New York-based Northwell Health has been piloting an AI-powered case management solution from a startup called Ascertain that is designed to enable nurses, case managers, social workers, and other staff to focus more of their time on patient care rather than administrative tasks.

“At a time when clinicians and team members are faced with increasing administrative burden and manual work, Ascertain's ability to automate and streamline workflows allows for focus to be redirected towards patients and their families rather than tasks," said Mark Solazzo, president of strategic initiatives and chief operating officer at Northwell Health, in a statement. "This collaboration has demonstrated that Ascertain's technology effectively addresses the unique challenges of complex healthcare organizations. Building on the experience with Northwell, Ascertain is well positioned to partner with fellow health systems to drive greater efficiency and improve patient care."

Northwell is also an investor in the company. Ascertain has raised $10 million in Series A funding in a financing round led by Deerfield Management with strategic participation from Northwell Health. 

Northwell is a member of the Aegis Digital Consortium, a collaboration of 11 health systems working to develop and scale AI-enabled technology solutions, such as Ascertain, to healthcare's most pressing quality, cost, and equity challenges.

Ascertain CEO Mark Michalski, M.D., has previously served as executive director of Mass General Brigham AI, as well as at Amazon, Butterfly Network and Hyperfine Research. In addition to leading Ascertain, he will also become chief information officer at Deerfield Management. Ascertain will move into Cure, Deerfield's New York City headquarters.

Ascertain notes that case managers spend up to 60% of their time on manual administrative tasks, leaving less time for high-impact work such as care planning and managing high-risk patients. Meanwhile, there are over 100,000 open positions for case managers and administrative roles in the United States, an acute labor shortage making it difficult for health systems to meet patient needs.

"There's a critical need to develop and implement AI solutions to improve operational efficiencies, ease the administrative burden on payers and providers, and facilitate information sharing," said Michalski, in a statement. "Collaborating with Deerfield, Northwell, and Aegis provides Ascertain access to a range of distribution channels, workflows, and data, which we believe will unlock new levels of efficiency for healthcare workers.”