Microsoft Unveils AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions to Revolutionize Patient Care and Streamline Operations

Microsoft's AI Healthcare Push Aims to Boost Efficiency, Enhance Patient Care | PYMNTS.com

Microsoft's recent expansion of artificial intelligence capabilities in its healthcare cloud platform signals a shift that could redefine patient care and streamline operations in the healthcare industry. The tech giant's move comes as hospitals and clinics grapple with ways to improve care delivery and reduce costs. Industry experts say this digital transformation could cut medical errors and pave the way for data-driven healthcare delivery. "By automating routine functions such as appointment scheduling, patient registration, and billing processes, AI can alleviate the administrative burden on healthcare workers," Hamed Akbari, assistant professor of bioengineering at Santa Clara University, told PYMNTS. Microsoft unveiled AI-powered healthcare solutions to streamline workflows, improve data integration, and deliver better outcomes across the medical field. The new offerings include AI models for analyzing diverse medical data, unified data management platforms and customizable Copilot agents for various healthcare tasks. These advancements extend beyond basic automation. Mika Newton, CEO of xCures, an AI-assisted medical records platform, told PYMNTS that "Advanced tools can help aggregate, structure, and synthesize information from electronic medical records (EMRs) and health information networks, enabling quick, accessible insights without time-intensive manual data entry or retrieval." For healthcare workers, this could mean less time buried in paperwork and more time with patients. Sara Mathew, Associate Director of Research & Operations Administration at Weill Cornell Medicine, told PYMNTS that AI could even assist with routine queries, freeing up staff to address more acute patient needs. The impact of these changes could be substantial. Akbari said, "AI-powered chatbots can effectively manage patient inquiries, allowing staff to dedicate their time to more critical patient care responsibilities. Furthermore, AI systems can assist in managing electronic health records (EHRs), enhancing data accuracy and improving patient privacy for those who may be uncomfortable sharing their information with others." Newton added that AI can address "the labor-intensive and time-consuming preauthorization process in hospitals undertaken by administrative staff. By automating and streamlining this workflow, AI can reduce delays and the risk of procedure or surgery cancellations, benefiting both hospitals and insurers." The impact of AI in healthcare reaches beyond administrative efficiencies. Newton said that AI-assisted diagnostic tools can analyze vast amounts of medical data, "identifying patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed" and supporting healthcare professionals in making informed clinical decisions. Mathew added that this technology could enable "earlier disease detection and stratifying data by factors such as race, gender, age, and ZIP Code," potentially improving health outcomes for underserved populations. This integration of data could lead to more personalized and effective treatment plans. "The use of AI to summarize and contextualize medical data enables clinicians to focus on personalized treatment plans that are evidence-based and tailored to the patient's unique needs, leading to better care outcomes and, in many cases, a quicker path to recovery," Newton said. Mathew sees this as an opportunity to address healthcare disparities: "This data can help hospitals and healthcare systems prioritize underserved populations for screenings and interventions, ensuring that at-risk groups are identified and treated more quickly. As a result, AI can help reduce barriers to care, improve access in historically marginalized communities, and contribute to more equitable health outcomes nationwide." The integration of AI into healthcare is challenging. Privacy concerns top the list, with experts emphasizing the need for robust data protection measures. "Protecting this data while ensuring it is de-identified and used responsibly is essential," Newton said, adding, "Like any other healthcare data system, AI-powered platforms must be protected to ensure patient confidentiality, and safeguards are needed to prevent data breaches or misuse of sensitive health information." Akbari pointed out additional complexities: "There is a risk of bias in AI algorithms, which could lead to disparities in treatment outcomes across different demographic groups." He added, "The utilization of patient data for training AI models necessitates robust safeguards to protect sensitive information and ensure compliance with privacy regulations, such as HIPAA." The potential benefits are substantial. Newton said that AI could help create a more cohesive treatment plan by "integrating notes from various care team members." He adds that AI can "process discharge summaries, simplifying post-discharge instructions and creating reminders for follow-up appointments to enhance continuity of care." On the diagnostic front, Akbari suggests that AI could detect conditions that aren't visible to the human eye, leading to earlier interventions and better outcomes. He notes, "The application of machine learning algorithms to analyze extensive medical datasets can reveal patterns and insights that may not be readily apparent to clinicians." For patients, the successful implementation of AI in healthcare could mean more personalized care, faster diagnoses, and improved health outcomes. For healthcare providers, it could lead to reduced administrative burdens, more time for patient interaction, and powerful new tools for clinical decision-making. As Akbari puts it, the ultimate goal is clear: "These advancements can help extend healthcare access to underserved populations who may lack access to advanced medical facilities." If realized, this could represent a significant step toward more equitable and effective healthcare delivery.

Microsoft Announces New AI Models and Solutions for Healthcare

AI solutions developed to address projected nursing shortages by 2030. Microsoft announced enhancements to its Cloud for Healthcare, introducing AI-powered solutions aimed at improving patient care, boosting operational efficiency, and easing the burden on healthcare professionals. Key announcements include new healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio, capabilities for healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio, and an AI-driven nursing workflow solution. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is supporting healthcare organisations at every step of their journey, the company said last Thursday. Also Read: Affineon Health Launches AI Platform to Streamline Healthcare Admin Tasks "We are at an inflection point where AI breakthroughs are fundamentally changing the way we work and live," said Joe Petro, corporate vice president, Healthcare and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms at Microsoft. "Across the broader healthcare and life sciences industry, these advancements are dramatically enhancing patient care and also rekindling the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians. Microsoft's AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilising AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, medtech developers, and ultimately the patients they all serve." Microsoft announced the launch of new healthcare AI models, a collection of multimodal medical imaging foundation models available in the Azure AI model catalogue, developed in collaboration with Providence and Paige.ai. These models allow healthcare organisations to integrate and analyse various data types, including medical imaging and clinical records, facilitating the rapid deployment of tailored AI solutions, according to the company. Also Read: Suki Secures USD 70 Million to Expand AI Healthcare Solutions "By using these models as a foundation, healthcare organisations can rapidly build, fine-tune, and deploy AI solutions tailored to their specific needs, all while minimising the extensive compute and data requirements typically associated with building multimodal models from scratch," the company said. "The development of foundational AI models in pathology and medical imaging is expected to drive significant advancements in cancer research and diagnostics," said Carlo Bifulco, MD, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics and a co-author of the Prov-GigaPath study. "These models can complement human expertise by providing insights beyond traditional visual interpretation and, as we move toward a more integrated, multimodal approach, will reshape the future of medicine." Microsoft says the general availability of healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric aims to simplify access to previously unstructured data with a single, unified AI-powered platform. Additionally, Microsoft launched New capabilities, including conversational data integration and social determinants of health (SDOH) public dataset transformation, designed to provide organisations with a comprehensive view of patient experiences and health-related social needs. Also Read: Microsoft Targets Ecosystem Partnerships to Make India as AI-First Nation: Report "Healthcare organisations face numerous challenges, including workforce shortages, rising costs, and increasing patient care demands. Generative AI offers a potential solution to these challenges by automating administrative tasks, analysing vast amounts of data for actionable insights, and assisting healthcare professionals in decision-making," Microsoft said. Addressing this, Microsoft has announced the public preview of the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio to build Copilot agents for appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, patient triaging, and more. Organisations can leverage the healthcare agent service to help create connected patient experiences, improve clinical workflows, and empower healthcare professionals while helping organisations meet industry expectations. In response to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) prediction of a nursing shortage of 4.5 million by 2030, Microsoft is collaborating with healthcare organisations -- including Advocate Health, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Duke Health, Intermountain Health Saint Joseph Hospital, Mercy, Northwestern Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Tampa General Hospital -- to develop AI solutions that automate nursing documentation. This initiative aims to reduce administrative burdens, allowing nurses to devote more time to patient care. Also Read: AI Fund Makes First Investment in India, Backs Healthcare Startup Jivi: Report "AI is transforming nursing workflows by streamlining administrative tasks, allowing nurses to focus more on patient care," said Corey Miller, vice president of R&D at Epic. "Together with Microsoft, we're using AI-powered ambient voice technology to populate patient assessments. Nurses using the tool are already sharing positive feedback on how it enhances personalised patient interactions." "For nurses, the integration of AI-driven solutions into our workflows is a game changer," said Terry McDonnell, DNP, ANCP-BC, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at Duke University Health System, and vice dean for Clinical Affairs at Duke University School of Nursing, Duke Health. "It allows us to focus more on patient care rather than the administrative burden of documentation. By automating tedious tasks, Microsoft's ambient AI solution helps alleviate burnout and gives us more time to connect with our patients at the bedside, where we truly make a difference." Microsoft says these new solutions adhere to the company's AI principles established in 2018 to help guide AI development and use. This announcement from the company comes ahead of the HLTH 2024 event to be held in Las Vegas from October 20 to 23.

Microsoft reveals new AI tools to help doctors and nurses workload

AI could be a key helper for healthcare workers, Microsoft believes Microsoft has unveiled a suite of healthcare-focused AI tools designed to enhance efficiency within the industry by tackling the burden of administrative workloads. The new tools include advanced medical imaging models, an AI-driven healthcare agent service and an automated documentation solution for nurses in order for the industry to tackle insufficient workforces, growing patient lists and increasing costs. The newly added multimodal medical imaging foundation models promise to handle different types of data, including medical imaging, genomics and clinical records. Organizations will be able to build, fine-tune and deploy AI solutions using the healthcare AI models to plug gaps that are currently being left by inefficiencies, a lack of time and an overload of patients. "By integrating AI into health care, our goal is to reduce the strain on medical staff, foster the collective health team collaboration, enhance the overall efficiency of healthcare systems across the country," noted Mary Varghese Presti, VP of Portfolio Evolution and Incubation at Microsoft Health and Life Sciences. Microsoft has also promised to tackle the accessibility of healthcare data. Typically unstructured and with limited data management systems, the tech giant wants to overcome this challenge with its analytics and data platform, Fabric. Key to this will be the conversational data integration from DAX Copilot, which automates the creation of clinical notes to reduce administrative workloads. Joe Petro, Corporate VP of Healthcare and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms at Microsoft, added: "Microsoft's AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilizing AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, medtech developers, and ultimately the patients they all serve." Currently in public preview, Microsoft hopes that the early look at its upcoming AI tools will serve as a powerful indication of its effort to become an integral part of healthcare systems globally.

Microsoft Unveils New Healthcare AI Models and AI Agent Service | PYMNTS.com

Microsoft has added several new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered capabilities to its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. These additions are designed to connect care experiences, enhance team collaboration, empower healthcare workers, and provide clinical and operational insights, the company said in a Thursday (Oct. 10) press release. "Microsoft's AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilizing AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, MedTech developer and ultimately the patients they all serve," Joe Petro, corporate vice president, healthcare and life sciences solutions and platforms at Microsoft, said in the release. The new offerings include healthcare AI models that enable healthcare organizations to integrate and analyze diverse data types, including medical imaging, genomics and clinical records, according to the release. Microsoft also said Thursday that healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric are now generally available, providing a unified AI-powered platform that enables users from healthcare organizations to access, manage and act on data. A third new offering unveiled Thursday is the public preview of healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio. Microsoft said in the release that organizations can use this service to build Copilot agents for appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, patient triaging and other healthcare-related tasks. "We are at inflection point where AI breakthroughs are fundamentally changing the way we work and live," Petro said in the release. "Across the broader healthcare and life sciences industry, these advancements are dramatically enhancing patient care and also rekindling the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians." The generative AI market for healthcare is projected to reach $22 billion by 2032, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and AI-ID collaboration, "Generative AI Can Elevate Health and Revolutionize Healthcare." The technology is reshaping providers' diagnostics, treatment plans and delivery of care, as well as expanding researchers' capabilities and accelerating drug discovery and diagnostics, the report found. Billion-dollar investments are driving an AI surge in healthcare, PYMNTS reported in August. In another, separate development announced Thursday, healthcare AI firm Suki said it raised $70 million in new funding to invest in development of its products, including its AI-powered voice assistant used by clinicians.

Microsoft unveils health care AI tools

Microsoft unveiled several new artificial intelligence (AI) tools on Thursday aiming to support health care organizations through medical imaging models, health care agent services and an AI-driven workflow solution for nurses. The announcement detailed how each tool will improve workflow for busy health care professionals. The AI imaging tool, developed in collaboration with partners like Providence and Paige.ai, enables health care organizations to integrate and analyze various data types beyond just text, including medical images, clinical records and genomic data. Microsoft says the tool would allow health care organizations to "rapidly build, fine-tune and deploy AI solutions tailored to their specific needs." Carlo Bifulco, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics and a co-author of the Prov-GigaPath study, noted that the models may help with cancer research and diagnostics. "These models can complement human expertise by providing insights beyond traditional visual interpretation and, as we move toward a more integrated, multimodal approach, will reshape the future of medicine," he said. The AI tools will also help nurses and clinicians time on administrative tasks. According to a report from the Office of the Surgeon General, nurses will spend 41 percent of their time on documentation alone. The tools aim to rapidly decrease that strain on medical professionals by streamlining those administrative tasks, such as through drafting flowsheets for review. Additionally, Microsoft announced a new public preview of an AI health care agent service, which would aid in appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching, patient triaging and more. The statement detailed that medical organizations can "leverage the health care agent service to help create connected patient experiences, improve clinical workflows, and empower healthcare professionals." "We are at an inflection point where AI breakthroughs are fundamentally changing the way we work and live," Joe Petro, corporate vice president of healthcare and life sciences solutions and platforms at Microsoft, said in a statement. "Microsoft's AI-powered solutions are helping lead these efforts by streamlining workflows, improving data integration, and utilizing AI to deliver better outcomes for healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists, payors, providers, medtech developers, and ultimately the patients they all serve," he added. While many of the newly announced solutions are in the early stages of development, healthcare organizations will be testing and analyzing the systems "to avoid undesirable behaviors, such as harmful content, bias, misuse and other unintended risks," Microsoft noted.

Here's How Microsoft Wants to Use AI to Fight Health Care Burnout

So it's perhaps no surprise that Microsoft, which is fiercely embracing the AI revolution and cramming AI features into virtually every corner of the PC experience, is bringing its AI chops to the health care sector. It just revealed a suite of tools designed to save medical personnel time by helping analyze reams of data generated by modern medical testing systems. In our post-pandemic era, when health care worker burnout is an established problem, the tech giant's initiative makes sense. In a recorded briefing for reporters announcing its new tools, Mary Varghese Presti, vice president of "portfolio evolution and incubation" at Microsoft Health, explained building AI into health care software was intended to "reduce the strain on medical staff, foster the collective health team collaboration" and "enhance the overall efficiency of healthcare systems across the country." Those are pretty vast ambitions, but remember: Microsoft's software is in use in a vast majority of offices around the world, it's a brand people are familiar with and feel they can trust, if not love. And AI -- for all its many flaws -- really is good at summarizing lots of info and can save workers time by taking on some of the more humdrum office tasks for them. That the company's software could provide the same benefits in a medical environment, where saving time can correlate to saving lives, is very believable.

Microsoft announces new AI tools to help ease workload for doctors and nurses

Microsoft on Thursday announced new health-care data and artificial intelligence tools, including a collection of medical imaging models, a health-care agent service and an automated documentation solution for nurses. The tools aim to help health-care organizations build AI applications quicker and save clinicians time on administrative tasks, a major cause of industry burnout. Nurses spend as much as 41% of their time on documentation, according to a report from the Office of the Surgeon General. "By integrating AI into health care, our goal is to reduce the strain on medical staff, foster the collective health team collaboration, enhance the overall efficiency of healthcare systems across the country," Mary Varghese Presti, vice president of portfolio evolution and incubation at Microsoft Health and Life Sciences, said in a prerecorded briefing with reporters. The new tools are the latest example of Microsoft's efforts to establish itself as a leader in health-care AI. Last October, the company unveiled a series of health features across its Azure cloud and Fabric analytics platform. It also acquired Nuance Communications, which offers speech-to-text AI solutions for health care and other sectors, in a $16 billion deal in 2021. Many of the solutions Microsoft announced on Thursday are in the early stages of development or only available in preview. Health-care organizations will test and validate them before the company rolls them out more broadly. Microsoft declined to share what these new tools will cost.

Microsoft launches AI tools for healthcare sector By Investing.com

REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT). announced new artificial intelligence (AI) innovations within its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, aiming to improve care experiences, enhance collaboration among healthcare teams, and provide better operational and clinical insights. The company introduced healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio, developed in partnership with entities such as Providence and Paige.ai. These models are designed to assist healthcare organizations in analyzing various data types, including medical imaging and clinical records, to expedite the building and deployment of tailored AI solutions. In addition to these AI models, Microsoft announced the general availability of healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, which provides a unified AI-powered platform to manage and utilize healthcare data. This includes conversational data integration and social determinants of health public dataset transformation, among other capabilities. Furthermore, Microsoft unveiled a public preview of the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio. This service allows the creation of Copilot agents for tasks such as appointment scheduling and patient triaging. The Cleveland Clinic is among the early adopters using these innovations to improve patient experiences and operational efficiency. Microsoft also highlighted its AI-driven nursing workflow solution, which was developed in collaboration with healthcare organizations like Advocate Health and Duke Health. The technology aims to alleviate the administrative burden on nurses, allowing them to focus more on patient care. According to Joe Petro, corporate vice president at Microsoft, these advancements are enhancing patient care and the practice of medicine. The company is dedicated to responsible AI development, adhering to principles established in 2018 to ensure positive impacts on healthcare and society. The new AI solutions and their potential effects on the healthcare industry were presented at HLTH 2024, with more information available on Microsoft's website. This press release statement from Microsoft Corp. underlines the company's commitment to advancing AI in healthcare while maintaining responsible practices. In other recent news, the S&P 500 earnings spotlight has turned to tech and AI growth, with companies like Microsoft and Rezolve AI making significant strides. The technology sector's earnings are estimated to have increased by 15.4%, and communication services are projected to have risen by 12.3% compared to last year's quarter. Major AI-centric companies have been at the forefront of these earnings. One of the key players, Microsoft, has seen a price target adjustment by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) due to increased capital expenditure estimates for AI developments. However, the firm maintains a positive outlook, projecting a 14% revenue growth for Microsoft. Simultaneously, Microsoft is forming strategic partnerships. A notable alliance is with Rezolve AI, aiming to revolutionize the global retail industry with advanced AI solutions. This partnership is expected to aid Rezolve AI in surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2025. However, analyst firm Oppenheimer has downgraded Microsoft's stock due to concerns over higher-than-expected losses from its OpenAI investment and slower enterprise adoption of AI technology. On the contrary, Truist Securities has reiterated a Buy rating for Microsoft, emphasizing the company's strength in the cybersecurity sector. These recent developments underscore the dynamic nature of the tech and AI sectors, with companies like Microsoft and Rezolve AI pushing boundaries and capturing investor attention. Microsoft's recent announcement of AI innovations in healthcare aligns with its strong market position and financial performance. According to InvestingPro data, Microsoft boasts a substantial market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, reflecting its dominant presence in the tech industry. The company's revenue growth of 15.67% over the last twelve months demonstrates its ability to capitalize on emerging technologies like AI. InvestingPro Tips highlight Microsoft's status as a "prominent player in the Software industry," which is evident in its healthcare AI initiatives. The company's strong financial position is further underscored by its ability to maintain dividend payments for 22 consecutive years, with a current dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's focus on AI-driven solutions in healthcare is likely to contribute to its future growth prospects. With a high return over the last decade and a strong return over the last five years, as noted in the InvestingPro Tips, Microsoft continues to demonstrate its capacity for innovation and market leadership. For investors interested in a deeper analysis of Microsoft's financial health and growth potential, InvestingPro offers 14 additional tips, providing a comprehensive view of the company's prospects in the evolving tech landscape.