Dr. Peter Lee, corporate vice president of artificial intelligence and research at Microsoft Healthcare, highlighted the company's growing focus on bringing cloud computing capabilities to hospitals and health systems in a June 26 blog post.
In the blog post, which revealed the names of two executives joining Microsoft Healthcare, Dr. Lee confirmed both new hires would be working on the company's cloud initiatives. These projects might include creating cloud-based patient profiles and pushing physicians to make greater use of the cloud, according to The Verge.
In particular, Jim Weinstein, DO, former CEO and president of Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock, will work closely with healthcare delivery organizations to support their transition to the cloud in his new role as head of innovation and health equity and as a vice president of Microsoft Healthcare.
"At Microsoft, we’re confident that many aspects of the IT foundations for healthcare will move from on-premise doctors' offices and clinics to live in the cloud," Dr. Lee wrote. "We are taking concrete steps with an initial 'blueprint' intended to standardize the process for the compliant, privacy-preserving movement of a patient's personal health information to the cloud."
Dr. Lee said Microsoft plans to share additional details about the company's work in the healthcare data space later this year.