Operationalizing a real-time scoring model to predict fall risk among older adults in the emergency department

Front Digit Health. 2022 Oct 31:4:958663. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.958663. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Predictive models are increasingly being developed and implemented to improve patient care across a variety of clinical scenarios. While a body of literature exists on the development of models using existing data, less focus has been placed on practical operationalization of these models for deployment in real-time production environments. This case-study describes challenges and barriers identified and overcome in such an operationalization for a model aimed at predicting risk of outpatient falls after Emergency Department (ED) visits among older adults. Based on our experience, we provide general principles for translating an EHR-based predictive model from research and reporting environments into real-time operation.

Keywords: AI; EHR; falls prevention; machine learning; precision medicine; risk stratification.