Amber Hickman |
Healthcare software developer Epic has expanded its collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate the use of generative artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry.
Epic will integrate Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology into its electronic health record ecosystem with the aim of quickening the development of solutions that address critical needs in the industry, including workforce burnout and staffing shortages.
The initiative will also expand secure access to AI-powered clinical insights with a range of modules that enhance patient care and experience, increase operational efficiency and support health systems financially.
Some of the new capabilities that will be available to users of Epic’s solutions include note summarisation, which will improve documentation processes with suggested text and rapid review, and embedded ambient clinical documentation, which will leverage the Dragon Ambient eXperience technology from transcription solution provider Nuance and help create seamless workflows.
The new solutions will also help reduce manual processes with a solution that provides medical coding staff with suggestions based on clinical documentation; and advance medicine by filling in gaps in clinical evidence by using real-world data, which will help in the study of rare diseases.
“The urgent and critical challenges facing healthcare systems and their providers demand a comprehensive approach combining Azure OpenAI Service with Epic’s industry-leading technology,” said Eric Boyd, corporate vice president for AI Platform at Microsoft, in a previous announcement regarding the Epic and Microsoft partnership. “Our expanded partnership builds on a long history of collaboration between Microsoft, Nuance and Epic, including our work to help healthcare organisations migrate their Epic environments to Azure. Together we can help providers deliver significant clinical and business outcomes leveraging the power of the Microsoft Cloud and Epic.”