Let’s Talk Informatics: Flow Forecasting and Strategizing Tool (FFAST)
Up next on Let’s Talk Informatics is a session exploring the FFAST solution, what it does, how it works, and why it benefits healthcare performance and accountability.
Healthcare administrators face numerous challenges in their planning activities, e.g., improving patient flow, meeting benchmarks, and staffing their services appropriately. The information they need to make informed decisions is usually scattered across disparate systems, and getting a comprehensive view of one site’s condition is a frustrating and time-consuming process. In addition, administrators are tasked with making near-term decisions to ensure effective health service delivery, without rich historic trends at their disposal – indicating what to expect over the coming days.
The Flow Forecasting and Strategizing Tool (FFAST) provides a mosaic of system accountability metrics determining a site’s performance, which are presented for the current time, historic trend, and forecasts for the next seven days. With this tool, healthcare administrators can more easily make data-driven decisions and monitor system accountability metrics towards their targets.
Speakers
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Conor Newcombe
Analytics Lead, MLOps Nova Scotia Health (Central)
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Leading Nova Scotia Health’s Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) team, Conor brings together Data Engineering, Machine Learning, and Software Engineering, to deliver cutting-edge digital solutions aimed to improve the performance of healthcare services across Nova Scotia. With a background as a Software Engineer within the UK’s Ministry of Defence, and the UK’s Health Security Agency, Conor moved to Canada to refine his acumen in healthcare digital innovation.
Graduating from Dalhousie University’s Master of Digital Innovation program, with a certificate in Health Informatics in 2022, Conor then joined Nova Scotia Health to apply his knowledge and bolster Nova Scotia Health’s in-house capabilities borrowed from his prior education and experience. Three years later, Conor has established the MLOps team and led the development of various Machine Learning solutions at Nova Scotia Health, from the public-facing Emergency Department Wait Times Prediction Tool to Surgery Scheduling Optimization, and most recently the Flow Forecasting and Strategizing Tool (FFAST).
Awarded with Nova Scotia Health’s Making Waves Research and Innovation award in 2024, Conor’s team is emboldened to continue delivering on the promise of Artificial Intelligence to Nova Scotia Health, with further projects in the pipeline for 2025.
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