Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft is delivering new healthcare cloud and data capabilities, with the launch of Azure Health Data Services and additional features in the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.
Azure Health Data Services has been purpose-built to help organisations protect health information and brings together data sets — like clinical, imaging and streaming data from medical devices — in the cloud using global interoperability standards of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources and Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine. According to Microsoft, the new offering ingests, manages and transforms a combination of clinical, imaging and medical technology data.
“There are several areas where cloud technology like Azure Health Data Services can help enhance healthcare,” said Matthew Kull, chief information officer at Cleveland Clinic. “I believe it will play a critical role between various systems, allowing us to take data from health records and other data sources and combine it together in a centralised place where it can be used to inform and deliver patient-centric care.”
Azure Health Data Services are part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, which Microsoft has also updated with new features. According to Microsoft, they have been developed to transform the healthcare journey, using artificial intelligence (AI) to give full visibility into data, reduce provider administrative burden, boost productivity for care teams, and increase workflow automation. These include new features in Microsoft Teams for virtual appointments, enhanced clinical workflow integrations in Teams and enhancements to Azure Health Bot templates. Also new is a preview of the new Patient Insights capability, which enables care managers, patient representatives and others to deliver and capture useful patient insights.
“The past two years have starkly revealed the pressing challenges facing healthcare and life sciences across the globe,” said Tom McGuinness, corporate vice president of global healthcare and life sciences at Microsoft. “At a time when healthcare systems are strained to capacity and researchers are racing against the clock, we believe that data and AI hold the keys to a new world of health and discovery for patients, clinicians, researchers and administrators. Microsoft is bringing together the solutions the industry needs in a cohesive way.”
The new releases build on Microsoft’s recent activities in the industry, including its acquisition of ambient and AI specialist Nuance Communications.