East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC), a 314-bed regional referral hospital, has long embraced innovation to improve patient care. Faced with a growing challenge in managing incidental lung nodules—often found during unrelated imaging and critical for early lung cancer detection—EAMC sought a scalable solution that wouldn’t strain clinical resources.
The problem? Unstructured radiology reports, inconsistent guideline adherence, and manual tracking processes were making it difficult to ensure timely follow-up. With lung cancer being the deadliest cancer in the U.S., timely action is critical—yet most hospitals, including EAMC, lacked the tools to consistently act on early signs.
A High-Impact Collaboration
Partnering with Inflo Health and the American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Learning Network, EAMC implemented a tech-enabled, process-driven approach to radiology follow-up. Inflo’s AI-powered natural language understanding (NLU) platform automatically reviewed radiology reports, surfaced findings aligned with Fleischner Society guidelines, and enabled proactive, automated patient and provider outreach.
Measurable Results
EAMC achieved remarkable improvements within months:
- 74% increase in completion rates for lung nodule follow-ups
- 20% improvement in adherence to Fleischner guidelines
- 95% increase in staff efficiency, reducing review time from 5 hours to 15 minutes per week
- $9,000/month in new revenue driven by better follow-up capture
This partnership didn’t just streamline processes—it freed up care teams to expand navigator roles into other clinical areas and reinforced EAMC’s commitment to delivering high-reliability care.
Setting a New Standard in Radiology Follow-Up
EAMC’s success illustrates how AI and strategic collaboration can transform hospital operations and patient outcomes. By closing the loop on incidental findings and operationalizing follow-up workflows, EAMC now serves as a national model for scalable, tech-enabled quality improvement.
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