AI technology a game changer for treatment of COPD and asthma - KSL.com

A new study by researchers at Intermountain Health and CareCentra found that using AI technology to streamline and enhance care for two of the world's most common chronic pulmonary conditions resulted in a 50% drop in hospitalizations, 20% fewer emergency department visits and a 57% cost reduction.Intermountain researchers say the study is a game changer for the care of the millions of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.Those two pulmonary conditions cost more than $50 billion to treat per year in the United States – much of it spent on hospitalizations that could be prevented.Researchers say some of the most concerning moments for doctors treating patients with chronic lung disease are not hospitalizations but the period between patient visits – those weeks or months in which risk accumulates invisibly, unmonitored, until the next health crisis arrives.Researchers from Intermountain Health and CareCentra set out to end that by utilizing new AI technology to help monitor patients between visits and improve care for patients with COPD and asthma.In the two-year study, Intermountain Health researchers found that continuous, AI-driven monitoring of patients resulted in reduced total cost of care for patients by 57%, hospitalizations by 50%, and emergency department visits by 20%."The clinical results of the study are game-changing," said Peter Crossno, MD, principal investigator and senior medical director of respiratory care at Intermountain Health. "This technology and process enhancement allows us to move from reactive care to proactive care for these patients."We demonstrated that it is possible to gather signals of patient risk continuously between clinic visits, shape their response behaviors through personalized nudges, and intervene, when necessary, through escalations to our pulmonary disease navigators – all in one composite solution," he added. Photo: Intermountain Health Results of the Intermountain COPD and Adult Asthma Remote Evaluation (iCARE) study were recently presented by Intermountain Health researchers at the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference in Orlando, Florida.About 1,200 patients at five Intermountain Health hospitals in Utah participated in the study over a two-year period to observe what happens when a health system is proactive and intervenes to prevent patients from deteriorating by supporting them at home to help them manage their health.Jill Bailey