From Digital Strategy to Patient Care: How Rijnstate Hospital Uses AI and Data

Digitalization is no longer a separate strategy for hospitals — it is part of their core mission to improve patient care and employee experience. In a recent vodcast, Rixt Altenburg, Manager Data and Analytics, and Mark van de Velden, CIO at Rijnstate Hospital, shared how they are using data and AI to improve healthcare delivery, support clinical decision-making, and prepare for future challenges.

Watch the full interview below:

Since 2019, Rijnstate has merged its hospital and digital strategies into one. As Mark explained, digital is now “normal practice” in the hospital. Their approach is built around three tracks: continuously improving core technology, optimizing care processes, and launching transformation initiatives to address future challenges.

This strategy reflects a broader industry shift from a vendor race to an AI outcome race.

Rixt highlighted how Rijnstate started with HR and financial dashboards and has since expanded into clinical decision support.
One example is in prostate cancer care, where patients and doctors use dashboards to compare long-term outcomes of surgery versus irradiation. This allows patients to make better-informed decisions with their doctors about treatment options and quality of life.

In radiology, Rijnstate implemented Boneview, an AI tool for fracture detection. If no fracture is detected, patients can go home immediately, saving time and reducing interruptions for radiologists. At the end of the day, radiologists still review all X-rays to ensure accuracy.

This shows how AI can improve both patient flow and clinician efficiency.

In neurology, Rijnstate uses AI that listens during consultations and automatically generates structured summaries for the EHR.

Doctors can focus more on patients instead of typing, while patients feel more engaged and heard. The result is greater efficiency for doctors and higher satisfaction for patients.

The hospital also developed a model to predict the severity of acute pancreatitis. While it was not fully deployed due to regulatory requirements, the project helped Rijnstate build internal expertise in developing and testing prediction models, laying the foundation for future AI initiatives.

To support these innovations, Rijnstate built a modern data platform in Microsoft Azure using Databricks with a Lakehouse and Medallion architecture.
This setup allows near real-time data processing and supports diverse data types, including text. The platform was developed with external experts but is now managed by internal teams to ensure long-term ownership.

Mark and Rixt pointed out that introducing AI into hospital workflows comes with real-world challenges:

• Models must deliver results in seconds to be usable in clinical care.
• Dashboards like ER bed management must work 24/7, not just during business hours.
• Privacy and cost management are critical when piloting tools like Copilot.

Rijnstate is part of IMPROVE, a network of seven large hospitals sharing data to strengthen AI models. The hospital also contributes to Cumulus, a national initiative to provide standardized access to patient data across the Netherlands.

These collaborations are essential to scale AI beyond individual hospitals and achieve system-wide impact.

Rixt and Mark offered practical advice for peers:

• Start with a few clear, business-driven use cases.
• Use frameworks like a data and AI canvas to identify value.
• Combine external expertise with internal ownership.
• Don’t wait for perfect data before starting — small pilots will help clarify needs.

At Rijnstate, digitalization is no longer a separate track but part of the hospital’s core strategy. By combining modern data platforms, practical AI use cases, and collaborative initiatives like IMPROVE and Cumulus, the hospital is turning digital strategy into tangible improvements in patient care.
From dashboards that support shared decision-making to AI-powered consultations and radiology, Rijnstate shows how a thoughtful approach to data and AI can create real impact — today and in the future.