Clemson University and Prisma Health have teamed to help improve health system operations and patient experiences, funding seven interdisciplinary research projects to analyze the human factors that affect healthcare.
“Human factors” refer to system processes and procedures – admitting and discharging patients, managing workflow during shift changes, adopting new technologies or administrating medications, for example – that may greatly impact patient experiences, health outcomes and job satisfaction among healthcare providers.
“These research projects will enhance our understanding of the effects of teamwork, culture and organization on health outcomes and clinical processes,” said Windsor Sherrill, Clemson senior associate vice president for research and provost’s distinguished professor. “Collaborative teams of Clemson faculty and Prisma clinicians will apply the science of human factors to health care settings to enhance patient safety and transform health.”
The grants are funded through the Human Factors Research Investment Initiative, a collaborative between the Clemson University School of Health Research (CUSHR), the Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF) and Prisma Health.
“Our partnership with Clemson University’s elite Human Factors program can be tremendously impactful for our patients and team members. We are very excited about this work,” said Jonathan Gleason, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Prisma Health.
Each research project received up to $50,000 in funding. Projects are listed below.
AI for Emergency Department Support
This project aims to implement safe, efficient use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist emergency physicians in the interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs) to quickly detect heart attacks. The research team will evaluate emergency department workflows for ECG interpretation to define clinician disruptions and system-usability barriers that will inform the successful design and implementation of AI-interpretation technology.
Collaborators on the project include Emma Dixon, assistant professor in the Clemson School of Computing; Steven Foster, a human factors specialist in the Clemson Department of Industrial Engineering; and Drs. Amanda Smith and Ronald Pirrallo of the Prisma Health Upstate Department of Emergency Medicine.
Breaking Barriers to Clinical Trials
Phase 1 clinical trials are critical first steps in the testing of lifesaving new therapies for cancer. Patients face barriers to enrollment and participation, and they also face health challenges that prevent study completion. This project seeks to establish best practices for the physical and psychosocial care and support of patients during both enrollment and participation of Phase 1 trials.
Collaborators include Kathleen Cartmell, research associate professor in the Clemson Department of Public Health Sciences; Suparna Qanungo, adjunct professor in the Clemson Department of Bioengineering; and Drs. Jeff Edenfield and Julie Martin of the Prisma Cancer Institute.
Improving Care for Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorder experience higher rates of adverse outcomes and preventable hospitalization often due to gaps in provider preparedness, care coordination and IT utilization. This project will assess system-wide implementation of tele-mentoring to support use of a tool that is integrated within the electronic health record to gather information on patient preferences before clinical encounters. This leveraging technology will enhance provider confidence and care coordination with the goal of improving health outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorder.
Collaborators include Dr. Desmond Kelly and Amy Hess of Prisma Health; Megan Carpenter, research assistant professor in the Clemson Department of Education and Human Development; and Cullen Jackson, clinical professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering.
Enhancing Safety in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
More than 40 million MRI scans are performed annually in the United States to diagnose a wide range of health conditions. The strong magnetic field produced by MRI scans poses safety risks to patients and staff. This project will examine the physical design of MRI facilities to identify risks and to propose solutions to improve safety for medical providers and patients.
Collaborators are Anjali Joseph, director of the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing at Clemson, Drs. Mike Devane of Prisma Health, Nora Colman of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Ethan Larsen of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Digital Twin Technology for Cardiovascular Patients
This project aims to develop a clinician-facing interface that could utilize digital twin technology to support the care of cardiovascular patients with implanted left ventricular assist devices that pump blood. These devices require quick clinical decisions amid evolving patient physiology and disperse patient data sets. This research team will evaluate post-implant provider workflows to determine where AI can best assist in the process to design and test an interface that improves clinical speed, consistency and workload.
Collaborators on the project are Ethan Kung, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson, and Dr. Gopi Dandamudi, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Prisma Health and clinical professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.
Employee Wellness in Windowless Healthcare Settings
What if the antidote to hospital burnout arrived on wings? Healthcare providers face relentless stress and burnout, fueling medical errors and costly turnover. But mounting evidence points to an unexpected remedy: wild birds. A recent Clemson-led review of nearly 200 studies found that 85% of experiments report positive outcomes from human–bird interactions, from birdwatching boosting mental health to birdsong sharpening cognition.
Now, guided by the emerging field of ecological medicine, a team led by Olivia McAnirlin and Matthew Browning, co-directors of the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab at Clemson University, is bringing birds indoors. Digital displays that livestream bird feeders will be installed in healthcare staff offices and windowless hospice spaces to measure effects on employee wellbeing and job satisfaction. The project unites expertise spanning nature, technology, nursing, hospice care and psychology, with collaborators Thomas Britt of Clemson University, Tracy Fasolino of Kennesaw State University and Dr. Joshua Keais Pope of Prisma Health.
AI-assisted Ultrasounds for Trauma Diagnostics
A rapid, bedside ultrasound exam called FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) offers a diagnostic tool to assess internal bleeding after an injury. Effectiveness can be limited, however, by operator training and the ability to obtain clear images that can be used to create a diagnostically useful 3D anatomy model. Artificial Intelligence could assist this effort but currently lacks clinical data. This team will work on building the clinical dataset needed to support algorithms ultimately used in the development of an AI-assisted ultrasound system.
Collaborators on the project include Hudson Smith, assistant professor in the Clemson School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences; Janine Hoelscher, assistant Professor in the Clemson Department of Biomedical Engineering; and Dr. John Cull at Prisma Health.
