AI-driven personnel demand prognosis wins HREA 2023

On November 24, the HR Excellence Awards (HREA) jury selected ATOSS as the winner in the “Analytics & Technology, AI in HR & Software” category. The HR experts based their assessment on innovation, creativity, results, efficiency and effectiveness of the submitted project. They awarded the accolade to “AI-driven personnel demand prognosis with integration of PPR 2.0”, a project developed by ATOSS in cooperation with University Medical Center Mainz, Fraunhofer IKS, Flying Health and ver.di (Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland).

Since its inception in 2012, the HREA has established itself as one of the most prestigious personnel management awards in the German-speaking world. This year, more than 400 HR projects were submitted for the award, which is presented in 30 categories. “AI-driven personnel demand prognosis” by ATOSS was a contender in the “Analytics & Technology, AI in HR & Software” category. Two senior ATOSS representatives – Dr. Boris Baginski, Senior Director Research, and Dr. Christian Dohmen-Griesenbach, Head of Sales Healthcare & Public Sector – impressed the jury by outlining the innovative solution’s benefits and value. Dr. Dohmen-Griesenbach explained why the project is so important for a healthcare sector hampered by skills shortages: “Qualified nursing staff – so urgently needed to provide the best possible care for hospital patients – are in very short supply. In light of this, it is vital to make the most economic use of their valuable working hours, while complying with legal requirements and regulations. Our AI-driven personnel demand prognosis represents an important contribution to achieving this.”

The project, which was first showcased at the Healthcare Hackathon 2023 in Mainz, aims to leverage AI to make duty scheduling in hospitals even more precise and demand-driven. This enables hospitals to ensure that sufficient numbers of nursing staff are available to care for patients when they are needed. Moreover, the burdens on individual wards are lightened, while employee satisfaction and care quality are on the up and up.

The data and application scenario for this development were provided by University Medical Center Mainz, which has relied on the ATOSS Medical Solution for over a decade. Based on historic patient numbers and the degree of required care, ATOSS worked with the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems (IKS) to develop a prototype for AI-driven personnel demand prognosis. AI models analyze the information available in systems and thereby forecast future personnel requirements – in a transparent, standardized, evidence-based approach. These forecasts help planners to identify understaffed and overstaffed shifts at an early point in time and adjust duty schedules accordingly. All adjustments automatically comply with statutory minimum staffing levels as required by the German Nursing Staff Regulation (Pflegepersonalregelung), known as PPR 2.0. AI-driven personnel demand prognosis is set to be integrated into the ATOSS Medical Solution as standard in the future.

Dr. Dohmen-Griesenbach summarizes the vision behind the new solution: “AI should assist humans, not replace them. Our goal is to noticeably relieve the burden on staff in the healthcare sector. We are thereby facilitating the best possible care for patients and simultaneously promoting meaningful work.”