Detailed implementation stories from 6 health systems that deployed Synthia Health, including deployment timelines, measurable outcomes, and return on investment.
MedStar Health faced a 5.8% diagnostic error rate across its 10 emergency departments, contributing to an estimated 2,400 adverse events annually. Their existing clinical decision support tools generated excessive alerts, leading to 92% of notifications being dismissed without review. The health system needed a solution that could reduce diagnostic errors without adding to clinician burden.
Synthia Health deployed its Predictive Diagnostics and Clinical Decision Support modules across all 10 EDs, integrating directly with MedStar's Epic Interconnect platform. The system analyzes patient encounters in real time, surfacing differential diagnoses with supporting evidence and confidence scores. An 8-week phased rollout included 2 weeks of shadow mode, 3 weeks of pilot in 2 EDs, and 3 weeks of full deployment with continuous calibration.
"Synthia fundamentally changed how our emergency physicians approach complex cases. The AI doesn't replace clinical judgment -- it augments it with evidence we simply wouldn't have time to retrieve manually. We've seen a measurable reduction in diagnostic errors, and our physicians actually trust the recommendations because every suggestion is backed by cited evidence."
Cedars-Sinai's 86-bed ICU experienced high rates of late sepsis recognition, with a median time from onset to clinical identification of 8.2 hours. The existing qSOFA scoring system missed 34% of sepsis cases in the first 6 hours. The institution also sought a research-grade AI platform that could support ongoing academic investigations alongside clinical operations.
Synthia deployed its full module suite -- Predictive Diagnostics, Continuous Monitoring, Drug Interaction Analysis, and Clinical Decision Support -- with a focus on early sepsis detection. The platform was integrated with their Cerner Millennium EHR and bedside monitoring infrastructure. A dual-use architecture enabled clinical operations and research data access through separate, controlled interfaces.
"The early sepsis detection capability has been transformative for our ICU outcomes. We're identifying deteriorating patients a full 2 days earlier than with our previous scoring system. But what truly sets Synthia apart is its research capability -- we've already published two peer-reviewed papers using insights from the platform, and our fellows have adopted it as a core research tool."
NorthBridge's ICU nursing staff reported severe alarm fatigue, with bedside monitors generating an average of 187 alarms per patient per day. Only 11% of alarms were clinically actionable, leading to desensitization and delayed response to genuine critical events. Two sentinel events in a 6-month period were attributed to alarm fatigue, triggering an urgent organizational safety initiative.
Synthia deployed its Continuous Monitoring module across 6 ICUs and 4 step-down units, integrating with bedside monitoring systems and the Meditech Expanse EHR. The AI system contextually filters alarms based on patient acuity, recent interventions, and clinical trajectory, prioritizing alerts by genuine clinical significance. Role-based notification routing ensures the right team member receives the right alert.
"Our nurses went from drowning in 187 alarms per patient per day to receiving focused, clinically relevant notifications. The impact on staff morale has been as significant as the safety improvement. Nursing turnover in our ICU has dropped by 18% since deployment, and our nurses report feeling more confident that when an alarm fires, it matters."
Cascade's pharmacy team identified that their standard formulary-based drug interaction checking was missing clinically significant interactions, particularly for complex patients on 5+ concurrent medications. A retrospective audit revealed that 12% of adverse drug events in the prior year involved interactions that the existing system had not flagged. The pharmacy team was also overwhelmed by high volumes of low-severity alerts.
Synthia deployed its Drug Interaction Analysis module with pharmacogenomic enhancement, integrated with Cascade's Epic pharmacy workflow. The system cross-references active medications against patient-specific genetic markers, renal function trends, and hepatic metabolism data. A severity-based alert tiering system prioritizes pharmacist review, reducing low-value interruptions while surfacing dangerous interactions that standard checking missed.
"The difference between standard formulary checking and Synthia's pharmacogenomic analysis is night and day. We caught 312 potentially life-threatening interactions in the first 6 months that our previous system missed entirely. At the same time, pharmacist alert fatigue has decreased dramatically because the system's severity tiering is remarkably accurate. Our pharmacists now trust the alerts they receive."
Lakewood's surgical ICU faced a 28% rate of acute kidney injury following major surgery, significantly above the national benchmark. Late detection of AKI meant that interventions were initiated an average of 18 hours after injury onset, reducing their effectiveness. The institution also wanted to integrate AI tools into its graduate medical education program to train the next generation of data-driven clinicians.
Synthia deployed the full platform with special configuration for post-surgical AKI prediction, integrating with their Cerner Millennium EHR and perioperative data systems. The Predictive Diagnostics module was trained to flag early AKI risk based on intraoperative hemodynamic patterns, pre-surgical risk factors, and post-operative lab trajectories. A dedicated teaching interface was built for the residency program.
"The early AKI detection has directly translated into better patient outcomes. We're intervening a full day earlier, and we've seen a meaningful reduction in patients progressing to severe kidney injury requiring dialysis. Equally valuable is the teaching component -- our surgical residents now learn to integrate AI-assisted insights into their clinical reasoning from day one."
Pacific Clinical Institute operates 23 ambulatory clinics with 180+ providers. Their primary care physicians reported spending an average of 2.3 hours per day on clinical documentation and decision-making that could benefit from AI support. Complex patients with multiple comorbidities often required specialists, but referral wait times averaged 14 days, leaving primary care providers managing complexity beyond their typical scope.
Synthia deployed its Clinical Decision Support module configured for ambulatory care, integrating with Pacific's athenahealth EHR. The system provides real-time treatment recommendations, evidence-based guidelines, and specialist-level clinical reasoning for complex primary care encounters. Smart order set suggestions and documentation assistance reduce administrative burden while maintaining clinical quality.
"Synthia has essentially given our primary care physicians a specialist's second opinion in real time. We've reduced unnecessary referrals by nearly half, which means our patients get answers faster and our specialists can focus on the cases that truly need their expertise. The time savings on documentation alone justified the investment, but the clinical quality improvement is what truly matters."