Microsoft launches a service that enables healthcare institutions to move large amounts of patient data to the cloud. The service, which is based on the Microsoft Azure platform, aims to provide medical staff and researchers with a more complete picture of patient health.
In addition, the tool also uses a national standard for the exchange of medical records and allows disparate health systems to talk to each other. For example, patient records can be seamlessly connected to pharmacy systems or fitness equipment.
According to Bloomberg, it is not easy to develop systems that make use of innovative techniques such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis within the healthcare sector. However, such applications are conducive to the well-being of patients by, among other things, identifying more targeted therapies for them. Compared to other industries, the healthcare sector is lagging behind in moving data to online data storage. Despite the fact that health data has now largely been digitised, there are several different databases. They can hardly or not at all exchange information with each other.
Complete patient profiles
It’s hard to think of data standards for interoperability as a sexy topic. But it is crucial for many new applications in healthcare, says Peter Lee, vice president of Microsoft Healthcare. The Azure platform will therefore be expanded with specific health-care tools. According to Microsoft, a better connected healthcare system would provide medical professionals with more complete profiles of their patients. In addition, it provides researchers with more data, and patients with more information to get their health under control. Microsoft’s move is also a thoughtful tactic to attract more companies than the competitive platform of market leader Amazon Web Services.
Increased health care involvement
In recent years, Microsoft has increasingly made its way into the world of healthcare. In recent months, the software giant has been working on cloud and AI products to reduce data entry tasks for physicians and ways to better assess patients. In addition, Microsoft is also committed to more focused cancer care. It also announced a partnership with the drugstore company Walgreens Boots Alliance to better connect patient data with clinicians and pharmacists.
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft will present its new Azure service next week at the HIMSS Health Conference in Orlando, Florida. Among other things, the software giant would show an app for planning hospital nurses and there would be plans to announce some forty organisations that are already testing the new tool. Microsoft is also reported to have announced that it is making its healthcare bot more widely available. The platform, introduced in 2017, helps healthcare organizations to build their own chatbots and virtual assistants. Since its introduction, approximately 350 organisations have been using the chatbot, including Premera Blue Cross and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta.
Healtcare bone for clinical trials
The vice president of Microsoft Healthcare has announced that the company is running a pilot project around the healthcare bot. It would help patients find clinical trials for new drugs and therapies. The idea is to scan complex medical documents related to clinical research information with a bone interface. The bone can help patients comply with prescriptions and scan and identify unknown medications.
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This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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