Previous reports show that a substantial proportion of (near) medical errors in the operating theatre is attributable to ineffective communication between healthcare professionals. Speaking up about observed medical errors is a safety behaviour which promotes effective communication between health care professionals, consequently optimising patient care by reducing medical error risk. Speaking up by health care professionals (e.g., nurses, residents) remains difficult to execute in practice despite increasing awareness of its importance. Therefore, this chapter introduces a computational model concerning the mechanisms known from psychological, observational, and medical literature which underlie the speaking up behaviour of a health care professional. It also addresses how a doctor may respond to the communicated message. Through several scenarios, we illustrate what pattern of factors causes a healthcare professional to speak up when witnessing a (near) medical error. We moreover demonstrate how introducing an observant agent can facilitate effective communication and helps to ensure patient safety through speaking up when a nurse can not. In conclusion, the current chapter introduces a computational model which predicts speaking up behaviour from the perspective of the speaker and receiver, with the addition of a virtual coach to further optimise patient safety when a patient could be in harm's way.

This paper presents an approach to enhancing neonatal care through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). Utilizing network-oriented modeling methodologies, the study aims to develop a network model to improve outcomes in neonatal respiratory support. The introduction sets the stage by outlining the significance of neonatal respiratory support and the challenges faced in this domain. The literature review delves into the existing body of work, highlighting the gaps and the need for a network modeling approach. The network-oriented modeling approach provides a robust framework that captures various states, such as world states, doctors’ mental states, and AI coach states, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions in neonatal respiratory support. Through Matlab simulations, the study investigates multiple scenarios, from optimal conditions to deviations from standard protocol. The main contribution focuses on the introduction of an AI coach, which serves as a real-time intervention mechanism to fill in the doctor's knowledge gaps. The research serves as a seminal work in the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, demonstrating the potential of network-oriented modeling in improving patient outcomes and streamlining healthcare protocols.

This chapter presents the use of second-order adaptive network models of hospital teams consisting of doctors and nurses, interacting together. A variety of scenarios are modelled and simulated, in relation with respiratory distress of a neonate, along with the integration of an AI-Coach for monitoring and support of such teams and of organizational learning. The research highlights the benefits of introducing a virtual AI-Coach in a hospital setting. The practical application setting revolves around a medical team responsible for managing neonates with respiratory distress. In this setting an AI-Coach act as an additional team member, to ensure correct execution of medical procedure. Through simulation experiments, the adaptive network models demonstrate that the AI-Coach not only aids in maintaining correct medical procedure execution but also facilitates organizational learning, leading to significant improvements in procedure adherence and error reduction during neonatal care.

This chapter describes an extension of a safety culture within hospital organizations providing more transparency and acknowledgement of all actors, and in particular the parents. It contributes a model architecture to support a hospital to develop such an extended safety culture. It is illustrated for prevention of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a commonly known consequence of childbirth for both mothers and fathers. In this research, we computationally analyze the risk factors and lack of support received by fathers. Therefore, we use shared mental models to model the effects of poor and additional communication by healthcare practitioners to mitigate the development of postpartum depression in both the mother and the father. Both individual mental models and shared mental models are considered in the design of the computational model. The chapter illustrates the benefits of simple support for communication during childbirth, which has lasting effects, even outside the hospital. For the impact of additional communication, a Virtual Safety Coach is designed that intervenes when necessary to provide support, i.e., when a health care practitioner doesn’t. Moreover, organizational learning is also modelled to improve the mental models of both the Safety Coach and the Health Care Practitioner.

This chapter presents an approach to enhancing neonatal care through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). Utilizing network-oriented modeling methodologies, the study aims to develop a network model to improve outcomes in neonatal respiratory support. The introduction sets the stage by outlining the significance of neonatal respiratory support and the challenges faced in this domain. The literature review delves into the existing body of work, highlighting the gaps and the need for a network modeling approach. The network-oriented modeling approach provides a robust framework that captures various states, such as world states, doctors’ mental states, and AI coach states, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions in neonatal respiratory support. Through Matlab simulations, the study investigates multiple scenarios, from optimal conditions to deviations from standard protocol. The main contribution focuses on the introduction of an AI coach, which serves as a real-time intervention mechanism to fill in the doctor's knowledge gaps. The research serves as a seminal work in the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, demonstrating the potential of network-oriented modeling in improving patient outcomes and streamlining healthcare protocols.