Beckman Coulter acquires artificial intelligence company providing evidence-based clinical decision support for emergency departments

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, a global leader in clinical diagnostics, has announced it acquired StoCastic, LLC., a leading artificial intelligence company that provides evidence-based decision support for hospital emergency departments (ED). StoCastic’s TriageGo will be a cornerstone of Beckman Coulter’s artificial intelligence (AI) enabled Clinical Decision Support (CDS) portfolio, a growing field that aims to further improve patient care by leveraging data-driven insights for clinicians and optimize clinical decision making.

“Bringing in StoCastic innovations and talent to Beckman Coulter is an exciting step for our plans to develop a full portfolio of CDS solutions,” said Julie Sawyer Montgomery, President, Beckman Coulter Diagnostics. “StoCastic’s unique clinical and artificial intelligence expertise is a strong complement to our existing team. Our investment in CDS is a great example of Beckman Coulter relentlessly reimagining healthcare to further improve patient care.”

StoCastic’s TriageGo decision support tool seamlessly integrates Electronic Health Record systems and routine emergency department workflow. The purpose of emergency department triage is to differentiate patients’ criticality, yet 60-70% of all patients in the U.S. are triaged to an ambiguous Emergency Severity Index Level 3, meaning the projected course of care is uncertain.¹ TriageGo has been shown to reduce decision making times in the emergency department, including decreasing door-to-clinical decision time by 20-30 minutes, door-to-ICU times by 40-80 minutes and door-toED departure for those having emergency surgery by 30–60 minutes.²

“We are thrilled to be joining Beckman Coulter Diagnostics,” said Eric Hamrock, Senior Director, CDS Service, Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and former CEO, StoCastic LLC. “Beckman Coulter will bring world-class market understanding and customer experience leadership, in addition to their commitment to supporting and building upon StoCastic’s customers’ success, making this a perfect fit for our organization.”

“With the StoCastic acquisition, we combine Beckman Coulter Diagnostics biomarkers with TriageGo’s evidence-based CDS to generate advanced decision support insights. This will enable clinicians to make informed decisions sooner and further improve patient outcomes,” said Kelly Sager, Vice President and General Manager, CDS Solutions at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics.

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References

Levin S, Toerper M, Hamrock E, Hinson J, Barnes S, Gardner H, Dugas A, Linton B, Kirsch T, Kelen G. Machine Learning-Based Triage More Accurately Differentiates Patients with Respect to Clinical Outcomes Compared to the Emergency Severity Index. Ann Emerg Med. 71(5); 565-574, 2018.

Levin S, Toerper M, Hinson J, Gardner H, Henry S, McKenzie C, Whalen M, Hamrock E, Barnes S, Martinez D, Kelen G. Machine-Learning Based Electronic Triage: A Prospective Evaluation. Ann Emerg Med. 72(4), S116. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(18)31035-7/fulltext