Univ. of Washington spinout takes on $5.2B hospital scheduling problem with AI analytics

Hospitals have to solve a thousand logistical challenges every day, but perhaps none are more difficult than operating room schedules. Surgeries can be difficult to predict -- in fact, less than half of surgeries in the U.S. start and end on time. That can create chaos for patients and doctors, and costs hospitals $5.2 billion every year, according to University of Washington spinout Perimatics. The startup, which develops a variety of technologies for hospitals, is taking aim at the operating room problem with a new AI technology that uses data on patients and surgeons to more accurately predict how long each surgery will take. The startup recently deployed the technology at a large academic medical institution in Seattle.