Microsoft is well-positioned to virtually lead the way in Healthcare

Microsoft is well-positioned to virtually lead the way in Healthcare Microsoft cloud for healthcare, thriving online, is now available in a public preview with a 6-month free trial. Microsoft announced this at the launch of industry-specific cloud offerings at its recent virtual build conference. On the whole, the industry cloud is sets of tools that combine Microsoft’s existing popular services like chatbots, Teams, and Azure IOT.

Microsoft Industry Cloud is nearly akin to Google’s G Suite for businesses, with the exception to access many Microsoft tools and catering specifically to related industries. For example, cloud for healthcare, would focus on what Microsoft has identified as essentials for the field, viz. engaging patients, facilitating health team collaboration besides improving operational efficiency, nevertheless with strict security guidelines.

An important module of healthcare is post-op care or aftercare while the patient is recovering. In this situation, medical professionals need to keep in touch with patients to follow up during their recovery process. However, the tools available to carry out this procedure are generally limited to follow-up phone calls and E-mails, which are not only mind-numbing but can sometimes not meet security parameters.

As a part of this package, Microsoft’s Healthcare Bot Service is now being made available, which according to the company is behind more than 1,500 instances of COVID-19-based bots that have gone live since March. By the way, these bots can help alleviate the strain on emergency hotlines for medical providers while addressing common questions that people might raise often. Yet another service from the house of Microsoft that is being made available is the bookings app in its Teams collaboration platform. This app promises to allow healthcare workers to schedule manage and also conduct provider-to-patient virtual visits without leaving Teams. This is more or less similar to other tele-health services available today. Programmed bookings for Healthcare, will send patients a customized E-mail to go to their appointment in one click on a desktop, or in the Teams app on iOS or Android. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that Teams “supports HIPAA compliance and is HITRUST certified.”

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will also offer “enhanced patient engagement portals,” which allows patients and providers to manage appointment booking, reminders, and bill payments across various devices efficiently. Although similar portals are already in existence, something coming from the stable of Microsoft will have a seamless experience on the medical provider’s end as it can sync well with other behind-the-scenes parts of the infrastructure efficiently.

Microsoft’s Healthcare service is perfectly designed to make things easier for care teams for working across different geographical boundaries having complex healthcare infrastructure. According to the company, it holds tools for medical workers to easily create referrals, lookup providers, and also to “understand physician spend, satisfaction, and enhanced analytics on referral categories.”

Organizations can use Dynamics 365 Marketing and Customer Service tools with Cloud for Healthcare in order to deploy personalized care plans for patients or even groups of patients. To proactively reach out to patients, medical providers can also avail of the services on any device with preventative and care management programs. It addition it can also conduct secure virtual visits and remote health monitoring via Azure IoT, which lets organizations receive data from medical devices to facilitate comprehensive monitoring in real-time for quick decision making in the event of an emergency situation or escalate care in a timely manner, as well as reduce readmission’s, as the case may be.

Microsoft assures to offer integration between Teams and Power Apps to help organizations create apps and workflows expeditiously; even without requiring complex codes or weeks of efforts.

Obviously, our healthcare infrastructure is about to evolve into a system facilitated by technology, and Microsoft is keen to be a part of that movement with Cloud for Healthcare. Given the many moving pieces that make up the medical and health industry, it is a victory for a product that aims to consolidate all those components with ease and efficiency.