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Transform health with personalized treatments

Focus on: Digital Transformation in Health

This year at HIMSS, the industry-leading event for healthcare professionals, Microsoft will bring healthcare partners from around the world to demonstrate innovative solutions currently empowering the digital transformation of the health industry. This blog post is the fourth in a series about how Microsoft provides the intelligent services and trusted platform for partner solutions, and focuses on solutions that unleash innovation to transform the care continuum. Join Microsoft and its partners at HIMSS18.

Introduction

Digital transformation of health, more than any other industry, promises to tangibly improve people’s lives. As we approach a future in which 20% of the world’s population is over the age of 60[1] and there is a shortage of 14 million healthcare workers worldwide,[2] technology is well positioned to help health organizations bridge the looming care gap. As such, it should come as no surprise that 70% of hospital executives attribute their organization’s growth to keeping up with technology trends.[3]

Imagine a world in which technology has enabled health organizations to flourish despite these challenges. By leveraging improved operational efficiency and large, secure volumes of patient data, health organizations develop new, personalized treatments and care approaches that deliver better patient outcomes.

In this world, health providers respond immediately to changing patient conditions by monitoring patients remotely and using real-time, intelligent insights from data analysis. Providers work proactively to quickly determine the best treatment options for a given patient and predict care needs before acute episodes occur. In-person or online, productivity tools and virtual care technologies ensure facilities run smoothly and efficiently, freeing up providers to spend more time with patients and transforming the health industry through stronger, more pervasive relationships.

Cross-organizational access to patient data enables the development of tailored treatment plans that better serve populations with unique needs, helping to ensure patients can receive the care they need. Pharmaceutical companies also benefit from the exchange of data, as they gain real-world insights into population trends and ongoing treatment effectiveness. And, with new data from genomic analysis, they can rapidly model new, tailored products and services that deliver more effective health outcomes.

New approaches and solutions are critical to enabling these scenarios, and Microsoft is deeply committed to developing the technology needed to see these possibilities through to reality.

Microsoft provides the technologies for health organizations to transform the care continuum

Microsoft delivers technologies that enable health organizations to achieve this vision through solutions and platforms that offer secure record-keeping, better insights, and improved engagement. With these systems, health organizations can monitor patients remotely, provide precision health options, and increase accountability in treatments.

With the Internet of Things connecting machines and devices on a secure, compliant cloud network, health organizations stand to benefit from improved cross-organizational access to patient data. Data from wearable health devices gives health organizations across the industry valuable new insights that drive improved patient outcomes, more comprehensive care plans, and better, more effective treatments.

Thanks to advancements in machine learning and big data, providers have improved access to data and insights from genomic analysis. Providers can leverage these powerful new technologies to analyze an individual patient’s genetics to recognize the personalized treatments that will provide that patient with the most effective results.

By connecting patients and health organizations through intelligent communications like Skype for Business and channels like ChatBots, more of a focus is put on the problems patients face and the effectiveness of the treatments they receive. Providers can leverage these insights to ensure they are delivering the level of care their patients require and hold themselves accountable if they fall short. This increased focus on accountability drives providers to deliver more effective treatments, reducing readmissions and the costs associated with them.

Microsoft works with partners who combine our technologies with their industry knowledge to build the solutions that will make transformation in the health industry a reality.

Microsoft partners help make this world a reality

One of our partners, DNAnexus, leverages the speed and flexibility of Microsoft Cloud technology to offer a data management and analytics platform that enables organizations to access, build, and securely share bioinformatics tools and results. When combined with the tools bioinformaticians, scientists, and clinicians already have available, DNAnexus’ experienced team and custom, proprietary tools help quickly and accurately run genomic workloads. This collaborative approach empowers researchers to quickly analyze genetic markers and associated traits in days rather than months.

Learn more about how DNAnexus’ partnership with Microsoft benefits researchers.

Another of our partners, BC Platforms, provides cloud-based genomic data management solutions, enabling clinicians and researchers to combine and use genomic and phenotypic data seamlessly. BC Platforms offers a flexible, scalable platform that controls the entire workflow, integrating disparate systems and allowing users to run analysis via a comprehensive, user-friendly web application.

Find out how Codigo46 is leveraging BC Platforms to build a database of the Latin American genotype.

Finally, NucleusHealth redefines the medical imaging ecosystem by leveraging cloud and patented streaming technologies to give health systems, clinicians, and patients fast web access to diagnostic imaging exams from any web enabled device. NucleusHealth empowers collaboration across health organizations, helping to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately improve patient care.

Learn how partnering with NucleusHealth enabled Bon Secours to drive down costs and increase delivery speeds.

Learn more about how Microsoft enables more intelligent healthcare processes

Microsoft provides intelligent services and a trusted platform for solutions that are changing the healthcare industry. To learn more about how Microsoft and partners such as DNAnexus, BC Platforms, and NucleusHealth are enabling healthcare organizations to transform the care continuum in the face of increasing pressures, visit our booth at HIMSS 2018.


[1] World Health Organization

[2] World Health Organization

[3] Becker’s Hospital Review