Apella Launches Scheduling Optimization, Becoming the First Ambient AI OR Platform to Unify Real-Time Management, Capacity Planning, and Performance Improvement

Early adopters observed 69 fewer delayed minutes per OR on days optimized by Apella, while maintaining case volume

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apella, a health technology company, today announced the launch of Apella Horizon, building out its real-time AI platform to include proactive scheduling and capacity optimization for surgical teams. With Horizon, Apella is the first and only solution to bring together real-time OR management, scheduling optimization, and workflow efficiency insights within a single platform powered by computer vision and predictive AI.

Built on Apella’s ambient sensing technology and data captured directly from the operating room, Apella Horizon enables hospitals to improve case duration accuracy and increase surgical utilization before the day begins. Horizon integrates directly with Apella’s existing real-time OR management tools and case information documented in the EHR. It creates a seamless workflow from pre-operative planning through day-of coordination, to retrospective trend management and performance improvement.

“When OR schedules rely on manually entered data, it can lead to inaccurate scheduling, which can impact resources and patients,” said Roberta Schwartz, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Houston Methodist. “Ambient technology captures real-time, contextual insights, which helps us not only keep ORs running efficiently, but also find new capacity that isn’t obvious when you’re just looking at the block schedule.”

Initial pilots found significant improvements in scheduling accuracy and OR capacity management. When OR schedules were optimized with Apella’s case duration forecasts, hospitals observed an average of 69 fewer delayed minutes per OR that day while maintaining case volume, and a 46-point reduction in late OR days. The share of cases under-scheduled by more than 30 minutes decreased from 60 percent to 16 percent. Additionally, hospitals were able to fill two cases per OR per month by using Apella to automatically identify and promote open time.

“For years, hospitals have made high-stakes OR scheduling and capacity decisions using limited data from EHRs — systems designed for documentation, not operations,” said David Schummers, CEO of Apella. “Horizon replaces those subjective, inconsistent inputs with ground-truth data captured directly from the OR. Apella’s ambient sensors and machine learning enables more accurate predictions, smarter use of OR time, and stronger trust between physicians and perioperative leaders.”

Key Horizon capabilities include:

• Case Scheduling Forecasts: Generates precise case and turnover duration predictions based on procedure, surgeon, and contextual factors. Flags cases likely to be over- or under-scheduled for proactive adjustment.
• Block Optimization: Provides real-time block time dashboards by surgeon or service line, helping surgical leaders identify underutilized allocations and support informed reallocation or release decisions.
• Targeted Case Placement: Surfaces high-value open time and recommends optimal time slots using case-matching algorithms that factor in constraints like case length and surgeon availability.
  

“When scheduling predictions, day-of decisions, and performance metrics all stem from the same data foundation, OR leaders can act with greater consistency and confidence,” said Schummers.

About Apella
Apella is a health technology company that has developed an OR management platform providing busy hospitals with real-time operational intelligence to eliminate delays, distractions, and inefficiencies throughout the day. Apella uses artificial intelligence (AI) and ambient technologies, integrated with EHR data, to automate and optimize coordination, scheduling, and staffing so surgical teams have additional capacity to provide better, safer care to more patients.

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