AtlantiCare, a New Jersey healthcare system, has harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through an AI-driven “virtual clinic” provided by Optellum, the system proactively identifies patients with lung nodules, streamlining the process from detection to treatment. This innovation has yielded significant results, with an additional 80 patients identified and a potential reduction in the time it takes for patients to receive a diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer.
AI has significantly expedited the journey from diagnosis to treatment for lung cancer patients at AtlantiCare, a healthcare system in New Jersey. Previously, AtlantiCare’s Lung Nodule Clinic relied on referrals from other healthcare providers to identify and assess patients with lung nodules, which had several shortcomings.
The issue was that the referring healthcare provider had to recognize the significance of the nodule, explain its importance to the patient, and then refer them promptly to the appropriate clinic. However, healthcare providers not specializing in lung nodules might lack awareness of available resources or make incorrect decisions about the next steps for patients.
To address this challenge and capture lung cancer at its earliest stages, AtlantiCare introduced an AI-powered detection system known as the “virtual clinic.” This system, provided by Optellum, enables the Lung Nodule Clinic to proactively identify community patients with concerning nodules and reach out to them directly for proper evaluation and management.
Dr. Amit Borah, an interventional pulmonologist at AtlantiCare, described how the “virtual clinic” functions: “The ‘virtual clinic’ identifies patients, assesses the risk associated with the nodule, and helps us keep track of each patient’s plan. Some patients may not require immediate interventions like biopsies or surgery; instead, they may need follow-up CT scans in a few weeks or months. The virtual clinic ensures that we monitor these scans and prevent patients from being overlooked.”
As the AI program identifies patients with concerning nodules, the interventional pulmonology team promptly engages with local pulmonologists and primary care providers, informing them of the technology’s use to detect lung cancer at its earliest stages.
The management of this technology primarily falls under the responsibility of Sarah Dean, NP, a thoracic surgery nurse practitioner. She enrolls patients in the virtual lung nodule clinic, reaches out to them directly, and collaborates with existing healthcare providers to coordinate patient care.
The outcomes of this initiative have been promising. Dr. Borah reported, “Since the program’s inception, we have identified an additional 80 patients with concerning lung nodules. This has resulted in more biopsies being performed and potentially reduced the time it takes for patients to progress from nodule detection to diagnosis and treatment.”
