Perceptive Health wins innovation award for AI in healthcare

Perceptive Health is proud and humbled to have been named winner of the Innovation in Return to Work Award at the ARPA NSW 2023 Excellence in Workplace Rehabilitation Awards, for their use of artificial intelligence (AI) in rehabilitation.

The ARPA NSW Excellence in Workplace Rehabilitation Awards are designed and hosted by the Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association (ARPA) to celebrate the workplace health, return to work and rehabilitation industry’s many outstanding achievements, and to acknowledge its importance in the broader Australian community. Award winners were judged by a panel that included representatives from SIRA, icare and WorkCover Queensland. The Innovation in Return to Work Award was judged and awarded based on evidence of improved return to work or service provision.

The innovation that won the award was Perceptive Health’s digital initial assessment tool. The company's innovation team – which comprises of specialists with combined expertise in clinical practice, service delivery and analytics/AI – developed an innovative new technology solution that has revolutionised the initial assessment process for work-related injuries.

This tool incorporates the use of evidence-based questionnaires, such as K10 and Orebro, plus interactive discussions with an injured worker – all conducted online. AI technology within the tool interprets the questionnaire responses plus the conversation between the rehabilitation consultant and the injured worker, identifying risks and barriers for return-to-work, and recommending SMART goals which can be used by the rehabilitation consultant directly in discussions with the worker to plan their rehabilitation. The tool then drafts an initial assessment report, which can be reviewed by the rehabilitation consultant and distributed immediately.

The development took around nine months, during which the team worked through the traditional initial assessment process, the types of questions a rehabilitation consultant asks during an assessment; what they are looking for in terms of identifying risks and barriers in rehabilitation, and what typical goals might be developed depending on the physical, emotional, social, and psychological circumstances of the injured worker.

“The tool has been developed using a holistic approach - assessing the impact of the injury and treatments on the various aspects of a person's life, such as their physical, emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing.” Nigel – Director of Perceptive Health explains. “It also uses proven questionnaires that are already used in the industry, to ensure the risks and barriers identified are backed by evidence-based methods.”

From a technology perspective, techniques such as speech-to-text and natural language processing are used extensively, in addition to a bespoke algorithm which synthesises all the information provided during the assessment to identify risks and barriers.

"We wanted to use proven AI capabilities that people trust and are already using more and more in their everyday lives, but applied specifically to the initial assessment process."

“We wanted to use proven AI capabilities that people trust and are already using more and more in their everyday lives, but applied specifically to the initial assessment process.” Melanie - co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Perceptive Health explains. “The healthcare industry is lagging in its use of AI, and there are so many opportunities to leverage this technology to make the lives of our healthcare professionals easier, while providing broader benefits such as cutting down waiting times for treatment.”

The traditional practice of a rehabilitation provider for return to work is to receive and accept a referral, then to book a meeting with an injured worker face-to-face within 3 to 5 days, then travel to the injured person, and then possibly arrange another time to complete a workplace assessment. Then the rehabilitation consultant will speak to all parties and develop SMART goals – typically this whole process takes 10 to 14 days. This traditional approach results a significant amount of time and delay until a suitable return-to-work plan is developed, and can also incur substantial travel costs. In addition, from the perspective of rehabilitation providers there is the challenge of ever-increasing administrative burden on rehabilitation consultants, and pressure on rehabilitation providers to improve service provision outcomes in parallel to the pressure from insurers to reduce service provision cost.

With Perceptive Health’s digital initial assessment tool this entire process can be completed within 24 hours, with reduction of cost as well as the reduction in time. This benefits the employers by significantly reducing time delays in having an initial assessment completed for their injured worker. The cost of travel is eliminated, and geographical limitations are removed, allowing the same level of service to those in regional areas as those in city areas, and also catering for those with mobility issues.

"For workers, the assessment process is easy and accessible no matter where they are. And for insurers and employers, not only is the cost of the actual assessment lower, but more importantly the overall cost of claim can be significantly reduced."

“Our rehab consultants love the fact that the process is streamlined, and they spend less time writing reports. For workers, the assessment process is easy and accessible no matter where they are. And for insurers and employers, not only is the cost of the actual assessment lower, but more importantly the overall cost of claim can be significantly reduced. Because the initial assessment can be carried out so quickly after an injury has occurred – this allows any barriers to return-to-work to be identified early, acted upon and remediated rapidly - this contributes to reduced claims cost. It’s a win-win.” Nigel says.

The digital initial assessment tool is just the first of many tools that Perceptive Health has planned in its mission to revolutionise the provision of health and rehabilitation in Australia and beyond.

If you’re an insurer, employer or injured worker please contact us to discuss our rehabilitation and return to work services, and how they can benefit you.

If you are in healthcare industry and would like to know more about Perceptive Health’s innovative technology and how it can help your business, please get in contact, or follow us on LinkedIn.

Posted: 12th October 2023

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