Microsoft has been on the forefront of supporting healthcare delivery and services during the pandemic, and on May 20 rolled out its cloud for healthcare offering.
The company reported 34 million healthcare interactions on Microsoft Teams during the pandemic and has co-developed healthcare-specific solutions with partners including the CDC, Allscripts, Humana, Renton, Wash.-based Providence, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Nuance. In its partnership with Humana, the company aims to reimagine healthcare for the aging population; it also hopes to transform healthcare delivery through its WBA partnership.
To support operational efficiency and combat provider burnout, Microsoft also developed a chatbot for diagnostic purposes and artificial intelligence that can generate documentation and paperwork.
Microsoft also offers Marketplace, an online platform that offers Azure-optimized apps and services for healthcare clients to test and deploy new tools, according to a CB Insights report. The featured apps include Innovaccer — Data Activation Platform, COVID-19 Healthcare Bot from WinWire and PulmoAi from ElectrifAi.
Where could Microsoft be headed next?
"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," said Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Healthcare Peter Lee, PhD. CB Insights projects that Microsoft will continue to build out its foundation for the modern healthcare workplace.
"Microsoft will continue to help healthcare organizations across the ecosystem to transform the way they work — from storing and making sense out of clinical data to communicating among care teams and patients to recruiting physicians and training staff members," according to the report.
In March 2020, the company had more than 44 million daily users and 900 million-plus meetings and calling minutes on Teams per day. It also ranked No. 1 as the most trusted tech company, with 75 percent of people participating in The Verge Tech Survey 2020 reporting they trust Microsoft.
The trust in Microsoft, coupled with its large number of users and existing relationships in the healthcare space, put it in a "unique position to penetrate healthcare enterprises," according to the report.