AI4DA in Healthcare

The Canadian healthcare system stands as a critical and intricate sector, greatly influencing the daily lives and well-being of millions of Canadians. Yet it is currently facing many challenges, including extended wait times, staffing deficiencies, resource allocation issues, fragmented care coordination, health disparities, and soaring costs.

At the AI Centre for Decision Analytics, we spearhead the utilization of AI, machine learning, and optimization techniques to address the complex real-world issues impacting healthcare operations today.

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Why Partner With AI4DA

Healthcare organizations work with AI4DA to make hospitals, clinics and care systems run more smoothly.

Access to expertise

Tap into AI-driven decision analytics research and expertise from the University of Alberta.

Researchers and trainees

Work directly with researchers and talented students on real operational problems.

Events and community

Join AI4DA events, speaker series and showcases that connect industry with the centre.

Flexible partnership levels

Choose the level of engagement that fits your goals, from first conversation to long-term collaboration.

At a Glance

$300B+
Annual Health Expenditure

About 12% of Canada's GDP — spending has more than doubled since 2005.

Health Workforce

Doctors, nurses and allied professionals face persistent shortages, especially in rural areas.

1,300+
Hospitals Nationwide

About 2.5 beds per 1,000 people, with many hospitals at or near full capacity.

Wait Times

Long waits persist for elective procedures and specialist consultations.

Challenges We Help Solve

1Are your people and facilities stretched thin?
Data analysis can help optimize resource allocation, such as determining the most efficient way to schedule medical staff, allocate hospital beds, and manage operating rooms. Machine learning can assist in predicting patient demand and staffing needs based on historical data.
2Long waits and missed appointments?
Data analysis can optimize patient scheduling, reducing wait times and ensuring that healthcare providers are efficiently utilized. It can also analyze patient data to predict appointment no-shows and enable better scheduling strategies.
3Shortages or waste in critical supplies?
Healthcare facilities rely on a steady supply of medications, medical equipment, and other resources. Data analysis can optimize inventory management, helping prevent shortages or excessive waste.
4Need to run research and trials more efficiently?
Data analysis and machine learning can optimize the design of clinical trials, helping researchers make better use of resources and conduct trials more efficiently.
5Capacity not keeping pace with demand?
Data analysis can help hospitals manage bed allocation more efficiently. Machine learning can predict patient admissions and discharges, allowing for proactive bed assignment and reduced wait times.

Recognize one of these challenges? Let us help you scope it.

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Current Projects

Contextual Stochastic Optimization of Surgery Scheduling

This project builds a practical scheduling framework for elective surgeries that explicitly models uncertainty in surgery durations. Using historical operating room data, we learn context-specific duration distributions from features such as procedure type, surgeon, and patient factors, feeding a stochastic optimization model that schedules daily OR slates while balancing utilization against overtime, delays and cancellations.

Project details
Faculty

Ways to Work With Us

Whether you are exploring a first project or building a long-term relationship, there are several ways to get involved.

Research collaboration

Co-develop research projects that turn your data and decisions into practical, evidence-based solutions.

Capstone and student projects

Bring a real problem to student teams and gain fresh analytical perspectives.

Workshops, seminars and hackathons

Co-host or join events that bring industry and researchers together.

Talent connections

Meet and recruit graduate students and trainees with advanced analytics skills.

Working on a healthcare operations challenge?

Tell us the problem and we'll help scope what is possible. No commitment required.

Start a Partnership