OB-GYNs discovered Black high-risk pregnant patients were less likely to be recommended aspirin to protect against preeclampsia than their non-Black peers. Clinicians deployed AI to improve prenatal care for all at-risk patients.

Maternal health specialists at Cedars-Sinai realized they had a problem identifying patients at risk for preeclampsia and recommending daily low-dose aspirin to prevent or delay its onset. Preeclampsia is a serious and life-threatening complication that causes high blood pressure and organ damage.

“We recognized a very concerning disparity in which our Black pregnant patients were recommended aspirin 10% of the time, compared to 27% for non-Black patients, even though both groups met the medical criteria for receiving it,” said Melissa S. Wong, MD, MHDS, OB-GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai.

Researchers embedded an AI algorithm in their electronic health record that examines patient data and alerts their clinician when a patient should be recommended aspirin.

The intervention led to a threefold increase of aspirin recommendations for at-risk patients across all races, and up to 82% for Black patients.

“Nobody shows up to work saying, I’m going to withhold aspirin from my Black pregnant population,” said Dr. Wong. “Once we made it easy for doctors to remember, the disparity was addressed—and even better, more patients of all races now receive appropriate preeclampsia counseling.”