Three organizations will collaborate to research the best ways to automate patient care outside of hospitals and doctors' offices. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the Gary and Mary West Health Institute (WHI), and West Corp. will "identify ways technology can provide real-time feedback and guidance to patients and to alert care coordination teams before health issues escalate," according to an announcement. Under the agreement, the organizations will translate protocols based on nationally accepted treatment guidelines into automated clinical and operational workflows.